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Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English

Aligning and Trapping Molecules with Light

L. Kador

Published Nov 17, 1995• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

An alternative to matrix isolation, cold molecules can be trapped and aligned in vacuum by an intense infrared laser field according to theoretical considerations expounded recently. The method is based on the polarization of the molecules by the electric field of the light, which creates an attractive potential. If the polarizability of the molecules is anisotropic, the axis of highest polarizability will be aligned along the polarization direction of the laser.

DOI
10.1002/anie.199523651

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An alternative to matrix isolation, cold molecules can be trapped and aligned in vacuum by an intense infrared laser field according to theoretical considerations expounded recently. The method is based on the polarization of the molecules by the electric field of the light, which creates an attractive potential. If the polarizability of the molecules is anisotropic, the axis of highest polarizability will be aligned along the polarization direction of the laser.
Summary form only given. Use of the Stark shift in intense infrared laser fields to trap and align molecules has been proposed recently. For the ground state of a molecule the Stark shift in a low frequency laser field is negative. It increases in absolute value when the molecule approaches the center of the focal spot and peaks for molecular orientation parallel to the polarization of the electric field. We study the effect of Stark shift on the interaction of trapped molecules, in particular on the exchange reactions.
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We report on the ability to tailor the optical dipole force for molecules by tuning their effective polarizability with strong field alignment using polarized fields. We have measured a difference of 20% in the dipole force on cold CS2 molecules when changing from linear to near-circular polarization using peak field intensities of 5.7x10(11) W cm(-2). A variation in the focal length with laser polarization of a molecular-optical lens formed by a single focused laser beam was also measured. This provides a new way of modifying this force for many molecules.
A detailed treatment of an electro-optical trap for polar molecules, realized by embedding an optical trap within a uniform electrostatic field, is presented and the trap's properties analyzed and discussed. The electro-optical trap offers significant advantages over an optical trap that include an increased trap depth and conversion of alignment of the trapped molecules to marked orientation. Tilting the polarization plane of the optical field with respect to the electrostatic field diminishes both the trap depth and orientation and lifts the degeneracy of the $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}M$ states of the trapped molecules. These and other features of the electro-optical trap are examined in terms of the eigenproperties of the polar and polarizable molecules subject to the combined permanent and induced electric dipole interactions at play.
We discuss the possibility of manipulating the center-of-mass motion of molecules using the nonlinear interaction of a moderately intense, long-pulse laser field with the molecular polarizability tensor. Recent theoretical work demonstrating the possibility of focusing and trapping molecules is extended to consider the effects of circularly and elliptically polarized light and the effect of nonspherical laser optics. The aberrations affecting the quality of the “molecular lens” are analyzed and the means by which they can be minimized are discussed. Molecular focusing is extended to a general field of molecular optics; the possibilities of steering, reflecting, and collimating molecular beams are illustrated. Application of the mechanical force of light to disperse and separate species according to their mass, velocity, or quantum state is proposed.