Quantum model simulation of complete S0→S1 population transfer by means of intense laser pulses with opposite chirp

Femtosecond structural dynamics drives the trans/cis isomerization in photoactive yellow protein

A variety of organisms have evolved mechanisms to detect and respond to light, in which the response is mediated by protein structural changes after photon absorption. The initial step is often the photoisomerization of a conjugated chromophore. Isomerization occurs on ultrafast time scales and is substantially influenced by the chromophore environment. Here we identify structural changes associated with the earliest steps in the trans-to-cis isomerization of the chromophore in photoactive yellow protein. Femtosecond hard x-ray pulses emitted by the Linac Coherent Light Source were used to conduct time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography on photoactive yellow protein microcrystals over a time range from 100 femtoseconds to 3 picoseconds to determine the structural dynamics of the photoisomerization reaction.

Space-time contours to treat intense field-dressed molecular states

In this article we consider a molecular system exposed to an intense short-pulsed external field. It is a continuation of a previous publication [A. K. Paul, S. Adhikari, D. Mukhopadhyay et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 7331 (2009)] in which a theory is presented that treats quantum effects due to nonclassical photon states (known also as Fock states). Since these states became recently a subject of intense experimental efforts we thought that they can be treated properly within the existing quantum formulation of dynamical processes. This was achieved by incorporating them in the Born-Oppenheimer (BO) treatment with time-dependent coefficients. The extension of the BO treatment to include the Fock states results in a formidable enhancement in numerical efforts expressed, in particular, in a significant increase in CPU time. In the present article we discuss an approach that yields an efficient and reliable approximation with only negligible losses in accuracy. The approximation is tested in detail for the dissociation process of H(2) (+) as caused by a laser field.

The long-term evolution of D2+ nuclear wave-packet with interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulse

We investigate the long-term evolution of D2+ nuclear wave-packet after interacting with a 5 fs, 800 nm laser pulse at an intensity of 0.5 x 10(14) W/cm2. The nuclear wave-packet evolves in field-free condition for very long time after the laser pulse. The collapse and revival of nuclear wave-packet is studied. The scale of the classical time (approximately 25 fs), the revival time (approximately 580 fs) and the super-revival time (approximately 12 ps) are determined from the simulation as well as the calculation. The constituents of long-standing nuclear wave-packet are also analyzed.

Adiabatic Passage in a Three-State System with Non-Markovian Relaxation: The Role of Excited-State Absorption and Two-Exciton Processes

The influence of excited-state absorption (ESA) and two-exciton processes on a coherent population transfer with intense ultrashort chirped pulses in molecular systems in solution has been studied. A unified treatment of adiabatic rapid passage (ARP) in such systems has been developed using a three-state electronic system with relaxation treated as a diffusion on electronic potential energy surfaces. We have shown that ESA has a profound effect on coherent population transfer in large molecules that necessitates a more accurate interpretation of experimental data. A simple and physically clear model for ARP in molecules with three electronic states in solution has been developed by extending the Landau-Zener calculations putting in a third level to random crossing of levels. A method for quantum control of two-exciton states in molecular complexes has been proposed.

Space-time contours to treat intense field-dressed molecular states. I. Theory

A molecular system exposed to an intense external field is considered. The strength of the field is measured by the number L of electronic states that become populated during this process. In the present article the authors discuss a rigorous way, based on the recently introduced space-time contours [R. Baer, et al., J. Chem. Phys. 119, 6998 (2003)], to form N coupled Schrodinger equations where N<L, which maintains the effects due to the remaining (L-N) populated states. It is shown that whereas the size of L is unlimited, the main requirement concerning N is that the original group of N field-free states forms a Hilbert subspace in the spatial region of interest. From previous studies it is known that a group of states forms a Hilbert subspace if and only if the corresponding topological D matrix is diagonal [M. Baer, et al., Farad, Discuss 127, 337 (2004)].

Do intense electromagnetic fields annihilate∕create conical intersections?

In this article the authors relate the possibility that an intense electric field affects topological features of a molecular system. For this purpose they studied a model based on the Mathieu equation. They found that such a field may affect the spatial distribution of the nonadiabatic coupling terms but not the position of the intersections. In other words an intense electric field does not create or annihilate conical intersections. It is shown that this conclusion is valid as long as the field is an analytic function of the coordinates in the region of interest. These findings can be extended to magnetic fields (or electromagnetic fields) as long as they are analytic functions in the region of interest.

Quantum model simulations of symmetry breaking and control of bond selective dissociation of FHF− using IR+UV laser pulses

Symmetry breaking and control of bond selective dissociation can be achieved by means of ultrashort few-cycle-infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses. The mechanism is demonstrated for the oriented model system, FHF-, by nuclear wave packets which are propagated on two-dimensional potential energy surfaces calculated at the QCISD/d-aug-cc-pVTZ level of theory. The IR laser pulse is optimized to drive the wave packet coherently along alternate bonds. Next, a well-timed ultrashort UV laser pulse excites the wave packet, via photodetachment of the negative bihalide anion, to the bond selective domain of the neutral surface close to the transition state. The excited wave packet is then biased to evolve along the pre-excited bond toward the target product channel, rather than bifurcating in equal amounts. Comparison of the vibrational frequencies obtained within our model with harmonic and experimental frequencies indicates substantial anharmonicities and mode couplings which impose restrictions on the mechanism in the domain of ultrashort laser fields. Extended applications of the method to randomly oriented or to asymmetric systems XHY- are also discussed, implying the control of product directionality and competing bond-breaking.