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Updated: Mar 20, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Steering Proton Migration in Hydrocarbons Using Intense Few-Cycle Laser Fields
M Kübel1, R Siemering2, C Burger1
1Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, D-85748 Garching, Germany.
Abstract:
Proton migration is a ubiquitous process in chemical reactions related to biology, combustion, and catalysis. Thus, the ability to manipulate the movement of nuclei with tailored light within a hydrocarbon molecule holds promise for far-reaching applications. Here, we demonstrate the steering of hydrogen migration in simple hydrocarbons, namely, acetylene and allene, using waveform-controlled, few-cycle laser pulses. The rearrangement dynamics is monitored using coincident 3D momentum imaging spectroscopy and described with a widely applicable quantum-dynamical model. Our observations reveal that the underlying control mechanism is due to the manipulation of the phases in a vibrational wave packet by the intense off-resonant laser field.
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