Purcell SM, Barker PF. Tailoring the optical dipole force for molecules by field-induced alignment.
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2009;
103:153001. [PMID:
19905631 DOI:
10.1103/physrevlett.103.153001]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2009] [Revised: 06/07/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
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.
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