Research Summary:

Molecules can be aligned by exploiting the interaction between their permanent or induced dipole moment and an external electric, magnetic, or laser field. Earlier work investigated the eigenstates and energies of such molecules in these "pendular" states. The time-dependant behavior in pulsed laser fields and the associated dynamics has also been explored. More recently, the prospect of combining two fields has been considered, resulting in enhanced alignment and introducing the possibility to control and manipulate molecular trajectories.

Latest References:

"Manipulating Molecules via Combined Static and Laser Fields"
Bretislav Friedrich and Dudley Herschbach
Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Volume 103, pp. 10280-10288
[Abstract]

"Steric proficiency of polar 2S molecules in congruent electric and magnetic fields"
Bretislav Friedrich and Dudley Herschbach
Physical Chemistry/Chemical Physics, in press
[Abstract]