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Updated: Jun 25, 2025

External Excitation of Neurons Using Electric and Magnetic Fields in One- and Two-dimensional Cultures
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Alignment of ND3 molecules in dc-electric fields.

Viet Le Duc1, Junwen Zou2, Andreas Osterwalder1

  • 1Institute for Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Journal of Chemical Physics
|May 28, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Researchers precisely controlled the orientation of gas-phase ammonia-d3 molecules using an electrostatic guide and rotatable mass spectrometer. This molecular alignment accurately follows the instrument

Area of Science:

  • Molecular physics
  • Quantum chemistry
  • Physical chemistry

Background:

  • Controlling molecular motion and orientation is crucial for molecular physics.
  • Gas-phase molecules require precise manipulation for advanced studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate adiabatic alignment of ammonia-d3 (ND3) molecules.
  • To investigate the relationship between molecular alignment and experimental parameters.
  • To quantify the degree of molecular alignment.

Main Methods:

  • Polarizing ND3 molecules in a segmented, curved electrostatic guide.
  • Adiabatically aligning molecules within a rotatable mass spectrometer (MS).
  • Probing alignment via photoionization with a linearly polarized laser.

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Last Updated: Jun 25, 2025

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Published on: May 7, 2017

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Main Results:

  • Molecular alignment adiabatically follows the mass spectrometer axis.
  • Rotation of laser polarization is equivalent to rotating the MS.
  • Polarization-dependent ion signals reveal state-specific populations.

Conclusions:

  • The study successfully demonstrates precise control over molecular orientation.
  • Adiabatic following of the MS axis by molecular alignment is confirmed.
  • Method allows for quantification of aligned molecular samples.