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Updated: Dec 28, 2025

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
The Effect of Nuclear-Quadrupole Coupling in the Laser-Induced Alignment of Molecules
Linda V Thesing1,2,3, Andrey Yachmenev1,2, Rosario González-Férez4
1Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.
Abstract:
We present a theoretical study of the time-dependent laser alignment of molecules taking into account the hyperfine coupling due to nuclear-quadrupole interactions. The coupling of nuclear spins to the overall angular momentum of molecules significantly influences their rotational dynamics. Here, we systematically analyze the impact of the nuclear-quadrupole coupling on the rotational dynamics of the linear and the asymmetric-top diiodobenzene molecule induced by external laser fields. We explore different regimes of pulse shapes and laser-pulse intensities and detail under which conditions the quadrupole coupling cannot be neglected in the description of the laser alignment of molecules.
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