It is shown how, under certain circumstances, optically pumping an R-branch transition at high J number in a molecular gas may result in a situation in which over half of the particles are in the excited vibrational manifold. This can lead to increased gain in transitions to intermediate-lying states and increased fluorescence signal in laser-induced- fluorescence experiments. In addition, gain can also be obtained on pumping in band transitions that have frequencies smaller than the pump-laser frequency. Such an arrangement can be employed to obtain a wavelength shift.
Careful control of quantum states is a gateway to research in many areas of science such as quantum information, quantum-controlled chemistry, and astrophysical processes. Precise optical control of molecular ions remains a challenge due to the scarcity of suitable level schemes, and direct laser cooling has not yet been achieved for either positive or negative molecular ions. Using a cryogenic wire trap, we show how the internal quantum states of ${\mathrm{C}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ anions can be manipulated using optical pumping and inelastic quenching collisions with
H2 gas. We obtained optical pumping efficiencies of about 96% into the first vibrational level of ${\mathrm{C}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and determined the absolute inelastic rate coefficient from
v=1 to 0 to be ${k}_{\mathrm{q}}=(3.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{0.2}_{\mathrm{stat}}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{1.3}_{\mathrm{sys}})\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{3}/\mathrm{s}$ at 20(3) K, over 3 orders of magnitude smaller than the capture limit. Reduced-dimensional quantum scattering calculations yield a small rate coefficient as well, but significantly larger than the experimental value. Using optical pumping and inelastic collisions, we also realized fluorescence imaging of negative molecular ions. Our work demonstrates high control of a cold ensemble of ${\mathrm{C}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, providing a solid foundation for future work on laser cooling of molecular ions.