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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

The mechanisms for, and the enhancement of, the simultaneous absorption of two photons by molecules

William J. Meath, B. N. Jagatap, A. E. Kondo

Published Jul 24, 2006• 11 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The dynamics and the cross sections associated with the excitation of a ground-state dipolar molecule to an excited state, by the simultaneous absorption of two photons, are discussed using the rotating wave approximation and time-dependent perturbation theory. The excitations of ten- and two-energy level representations of model dipolar molecules are used for illustrative purposes. The temporal development of the final state of the excitation process and the two-photon excitation cross sections are discussed as functions of laser intensity, laser–molecule interaction time and the two types of excitation mechanism (which are available for dipolar molecules, relative to the one mechanism for a non-polar molecule). The results are used to discuss the validity of perturbation theory treatments of the problem and various strategies for the enhancement of the intrinsically weak two-photon excitation process.

DOI
10.1088/0953-4075/39/15/s08

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The dynamics and the cross sections associated with the excitation of a ground-state dipolar molecule to an excited state, by the simultaneous absorption of two photons, are discussed using the rotating wave approximation and time-dependent perturbation theory. The excitations of ten- and two-energy level representations of model dipolar molecules are used for illustrative purposes. The temporal development of the final state of the excitation process and the two-photon excitation cross sections are discussed as functions of laser intensity, laser–molecule interaction time and the two types of excitation mechanism (which are available for dipolar molecules, relative to the one mechanism for a non-polar molecule). The results are used to discuss the validity of perturbation theory treatments of the problem and various strategies for the enhancement of the intrinsically weak two-photon excitation process.
The dependence of the population of the target state, and the excitation cross section and rate, on pulse duration Q, laser intensity I, and a molecular matrix element A is discussed for two-photon molecular excitation. Perturbative and rotating wave approximation (RWA) expressions for the observables are obtained; the latter are used to discuss the validity of the former. For example, the perturbative cross section and rate increasingly underestimate the RWA results as I increases for given A and Q. Two- and ten-level model dipolar molecules are employed for illustrative purposes. The results are relevant for understanding two-photon excitation processes and their enhancement and include discussions of the roles the permanent dipole- and virtual-state mechanisms in such processes and of the validity of using intensity-independent cross sections to gauge the strength of such excitations.
A model two-level dipolar molecule, and the rotating wave approximation and perturbation theory, are used to investigate the optimization and the laser intensity dependence of the two-photon excitation rate via the direct permanent dipole mechanism. The rate is proportional to the square of the laser intensity I only for small intensities and times when perturbation theory is applicable. An improvement on perturbation theory is provided by a small time RWA result for the rate which is not proportional to I2; rather it is proportional to the square of an effective intensity Ieff. For each laser intensity the optimum RWA excitation rate as a function of time, for low intensities, is proportional to I, not I2, and for high intensities it is proportional to Ieff. For a given two-photon transition the laser-molecule coupling optimizes for an intensity Imax which, for example, leads to a maximum possible excitation rate as a function of time. The validity of the RWA results of this paper, and the importance of including the effects of virtual excited states, are also discussed briefly.
One of the purposes of this paper is to develop an analytical many-level generalized rotating wave approximation (GRWA), including the effects of permanent dipoles, for the excitation of many-level molecules through the simultaneous absorption of two photons. Included are expressions for the two-photon laser–molecule coupling C, and its two components Cd and Cv corresponding to the direct permanent dipole and the virtual state excitation mechanisms, respectively, and related observables such as the time-dependent populations of the initial and final states of the excitation process and resonance profiles. This GRWA treatment also includes an energy shift parameter e, which causes shifts in the position of the resonance energy as the laser intensity increases. The effects of permanent dipoles are very different in Cv and e versus Cd. These effects have been discussed previously for Cd using analytic two-level RWA approaches. The analytical results for Cv and e obtained here are new as is their use in discussing the influence of permanent dipoles in the parts of the two-photon excitation process involving virtual states. In the absence of permanent dipoles Cd is zero whereas Cv and e are not; they equal the corresponding perturbation theory results. The GRWA and perturbative results are related by Bessel function damping functions which, for dipolar molecules, damp out the divergence of the perturbative results as the laser intensity increases. Illustrative examples are given for a two-photon excitation involving a model chromophore which has a significant virtual state contribution through both the laser–molecule coupling and the energy shift parameter.
The effects of permanent dipole moments and those due to the randomness of molecular orientation in the phase control of molecular excitation are discussed for the simultaneous one- and three-photon excitation of a two-level model molecule. In this transition scheme both transitions can occur with or without the presence of permanent dipoles and the results are contrasted to those corresponding to the one- and two-photon excitation of a two-level molecule, which requires the presence of permanent dipoles. The dependence of the temporal evolution of the excited state and the associated resonance profiles on the relative phase of the lasers is used to monitor the control of the excitation process. Analytical perturbation theory, the rotating-wave approximation, and exact Floquet results for those observables are used for this purpose. Both fixed molecule-laser configurations and situations where the absorbing molecules assume random orientations with respect to the laser beams are considered. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
The two-level rotating wave approximation for two-photon excitations in dipolar molecules is modified to include the effects of the Bloch-Siegert shift in the two-photon resonance energy. The resulting analytical results are used to establish a criterion for when Bloch-Siegert effects are important and the relevance of these effects are compared for fixed laser-molecule configurations versus orientationally averaged results. Two-level model molecules, with parallel permanent and transition dipoles, are used in this work and the effects of Bloch-Siegert shifts are discussed for resonance profiles, time-dependent populations of the excited state, and time-averaged excitation rates. Bloch-Siegert shifts can have pronounced effects on resonance energies and the shape of resonance profiles and, for example, on the magnitudes and the temporal locations of the maxima in the temporal evolution of the time-dependent properties of the system.
Three-photon bimolecular absorption is a process which, through the simultaneous absorption of three laser photons, results in the electronic excitation of two molecules or atoms. Following a recent treatment of the selection rules, a quantum electrodynamical treatment is employed to describe the main features associated with the process and to produce an equation for the excitation rate. The dependence on photon polarization is investigated, and the magnitude of the excitation rate is estimated. It is shown that two different mechanisms operate, each with different selection rules and different dependences on intermolecular separation. In each case an energy mismatch is conveyed from one molecule to the other by means of virtual photon coupling. Some possible schemes for experimental study of the process out outlined.