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Jiang Z, Huang H, Lu C, Zhou L, Pan S, Qiang J, Shi M, Ye Z, Lu P, Ni H, Zhang W, Wu J. Ultrafast photoinduced C-H bond formation from two small inorganic molecules. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2854. [PMID: 38565554 PMCID: PMC10987588 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47137-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The formation of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds via the reaction of small inorganic molecules is of great significance for understanding the fundamental transition from inorganic to organic matter, and thus the origin of life. Yet, the detailed mechanism of the C-H bond formation, particularly the time scale and molecular-level control of the dynamics, remain elusive. Here, we investigate the light-induced bimolecular reaction starting from a van der Waals molecular dimer composed of two small inorganic molecules, H2 and CO. Employing reaction microscopy driven by a tailored two-color light field, we identify the pathways leading to C-H photobonding thereby producing HCO+ ions, and achieve coherent control over the reaction dynamics. Using a femtosecond pump-probe scheme, we capture the ultrafast formation time, i.e., 198 ± 16 femtoseconds. The real-time visualization and coherent control of the dynamics contribute to a deeper understanding of the most fundamental bimolecular reactions responsible for C-H bond formation, thus contributing to elucidate the emergence of organic components in the universe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhejun Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Hao Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Chenxu Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Lianrong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Shengzhe Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Junjie Qiang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Menghang Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Zhengjun Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Peifen Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Hongcheng Ni
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, China.
| | - Wenbin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.
| | - Jian Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, China.
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Precision Optics, Chongqing Institute of East China Normal University, Chongqing, 401121, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Ultra-intense Laser Science, Shanghai, 201800, China.
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Hong QQ, Lian ZZ, Shu CC, Henriksen NE. Quantum control of field-free molecular orientation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023. [PMID: 37724061 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp03115b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/20/2023]
Abstract
Generating field-free (non-stationary) orientation of molecules in space has been a longstanding goal in the field of quantum control of molecular rotation, which has significant applications in physical chemistry, chemical physics, strong-field physics, and quantum information science. In this Perspective, we review and examine several representative control schemes developed in recent years and implemented in theoretical and experimental areas for generating field-free orientation of molecules. By conducting numerical simulations of different control schemes on the same molecular system, we demonstrate that quantum coherent control, specifically targeting a limited number of the lowest-lying rotational levels to achieve an optimal superposition, can result in a high degree of orientation. To this end, we provide an overview of our latest developed analytical method, which enables the precise design of terahertz field parameters through resonant excitation. This design approach facilitates the attainment of desired field-free orientations by optimizing the amplitudes and phases of rotational wave functions for the selected rotational levels. Finally, we outlook the significance of such progress in multiple frontier research fields, highlighting its potential applications in ultracold physics, quantum computation, quantum simulation, and quantum metrology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian-Qian Hong
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Nanophotonics and Devices, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
| | - Zhen-Zhong Lian
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Nanophotonics and Devices, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
| | - Chuan-Cun Shu
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Nanophotonics and Devices, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
| | - Niels E Henriksen
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Building 207, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
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Fan LB, Shu CC, Dong D, He J, Henriksen NE, Nori F. Quantum Coherent Control of a Single Molecular-Polariton Rotation. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:043604. [PMID: 36763416 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.043604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
We present a combined analytical and numerical study for coherent terahertz control of a single molecular polariton, formed by strongly coupling two rotational states of a molecule with a single-mode cavity. Compared to the bare molecules driven by a single terahertz pulse, the presence of a cavity strongly modifies the postpulse orientation of the polariton, making it difficult to obtain its maximal degree of orientation. To solve this challenging problem toward achieving complete quantum coherent control, we derive an analytical solution of a pulse-driven quantum Jaynes-Cummings model by expanding the wave function into entangled states and constructing an effective Hamiltonian. We utilize it to design a composite terahertz pulse and obtain the maximum degree of orientation of the polariton by exploiting photon blockade effects. This Letter offers a new strategy to study rotational dynamics in the strong-coupling regime and provides a method for complete quantum coherent control of a single molecular polariton. It, therefore, has direct applications in polariton chemistry and molecular polaritonics for exploring novel quantum optical phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Bao Fan
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Nanophotonics and Devices, Hunan Key Laboratory of Super-Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
| | - Chuan-Cun Shu
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Nanophotonics and Devices, Hunan Key Laboratory of Super-Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
| | - Daoyi Dong
- School of Engineering and Information Technology, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600, Australia
| | - Jun He
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Nanophotonics and Devices, Hunan Key Laboratory of Super-Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics and Electronics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
| | - Niels E Henriksen
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Building 207, DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Franco Nori
- Theoretical Quantum Physics Laboratory, RIKEN, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
- Physics Department, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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4
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Nakamura K, Fukahori S, Hasegawa H. Rotational dynamics and transitions between Λ-type doubling of NO induced by an intense two-color laser field. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:174308. [PMID: 34742217 DOI: 10.1063/5.0071516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We numerically investigate the rotational dynamics of NO in the electronic ground X2Π state induced by an intense two-color laser field (10 TW/cm2) as a function of pulse duration (0.3-25 ps). In the short pulse duration of less than 12 ps, rotational Raman excitation is effectively induced and results in molecular orientation. On the contrary, when the pulse duration is longer than 15 ps, the rotational excitation is suppressed. In addition to the rotational excitation, we find that transitions between Λ-type doubling are induced. Significantly, the maximum coherent wave packet between Λ-type doubling in J = 0.5 is generated using the pulse duration of 19.8 ps. The wave packet changes to the eigenstates of Λ = +1 or -1 alternatively, where Λ is the projection of the electronic orbital angular momentum on the N-O axis, which is regarded as the unidirectional rotation of an unpaired 2π electron around the N-O axis in a space-fixed frame as well as in a molecule-fixed frame. The experimental method to observe the alternation of the rotational direction of the electron around the N-O axis is proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Nakamura
- Department of Integrated Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
| | - Shinichi Fukahori
- Department of Integrated Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
| | - Hirokazu Hasegawa
- Department of Integrated Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
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Lin K, Tutunnikov I, Qiang J, Ma J, Song Q, Ji Q, Zhang W, Li H, Sun F, Gong X, Li H, Lu P, Zeng H, Prior Y, Averbukh IS, Wu J. All-optical field-free three-dimensional orientation of asymmetric-top molecules. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5134. [PMID: 30510201 PMCID: PMC6277449 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07567-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Orientation and alignment of molecules by ultrashort laser pulses is crucial for a variety of applications and has long been of interest in physics and chemistry, with the special emphasis on stereodynamics in chemical reactions and molecular orbitals imaging. As compared to the laser-induced molecular alignment, which has been extensively studied and demonstrated, achieving molecular orientation is a much more challenging task, especially in the case of asymmetric-top molecules. Here, we report the experimental demonstration of all-optical field-free three-dimensional orientation of asymmetric-top molecules by means of phase-locked cross-polarized two-color laser pulse. This approach is based on nonlinear optical mixing process caused by the off-diagonal elements of the molecular hyperpolarizability tensor. It is demonstrated on SO2 molecules and is applicable to a variety of complex nonlinear molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Ilia Tutunnikov
- AMOS and Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Junjie Qiang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Junyang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiying Song
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Qinying Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenbin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Hanxiao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Fenghao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaochun Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Peifen Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Heping Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Yehiam Prior
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China.
- AMOS and Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Ilya Sh Averbukh
- AMOS and Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Jian Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China.
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, 030006, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
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6
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Sonoda K, Iwasaki A, Yamanouchi K, Hasegawa H. Field-free molecular orientation of nonadiabatically aligned OCS. Chem Phys Lett 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cplett.2018.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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7
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He L, Bulthuis J, Luo S, Wang J, Lu C, Stolte S, Ding D, Roeterdink WG. Laser induced alignment of state-selected CH3I. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2015; 17:24121-8. [PMID: 26314900 DOI: 10.1039/c5cp02997j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Hexapole state selection is used to prepare CH3I molecules in the |JKM〉 = |1±1∓1〉 state. The molecules are aligned in a strong 800 nm laser field, which is linearly polarised perpendicular to the weak static extraction field E of the time of flight setup. The molecules are subsequently ionised by a second time delayed probe laser pulse. It will be shown that in this geometry at high enough laser intensities the Newton sphere has sufficient symmetry to apply the inverse Abel transformation to reconstruct the three dimensional distribution from the projected ion image. The laser induced controllable alignment was found to have the upper and lower extreme values of 〈P2(cos θ)〉 = 0.7 for the aligned molecule and -0.1 for the anti-aligned molecule, coupled to 〈P4(cos θ)〉 between 0.3 and 0.0. The method to extract the alignment parameters 〈P2(cos θ)〉 and 〈P4(cos θ)〉 directly from the velocity map ion images will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lanhai He
- Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, P. R. China.
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Trippel S, Mullins T, Müller NLM, Kienitz JS, González-Férez R, Küpper J. Two-state wave packet for strong field-free molecular orientation. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2015; 114:103003. [PMID: 25815928 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.114.103003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate strong laser-field-free orientation of absolute-ground-state carbonyl sulfide molecules. The molecules are oriented by the combination of a 485-ps-long nonresonant laser pulse and a weak static electric field. The edges of the laser pulse create a coherent superposition of two rotational states resulting in revivals of strong transient molecular orientation after the laser pulse. The experimentally attained degree of orientation ⟨cosθ⟩≈0.6 corresponds to the theoretical maximum for mixing of the two states. Switching off the dc field would provide the same orientation completely field free.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Trippel
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Terry Mullins
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nele L M Müller
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jens S Kienitz
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Rosario González-Férez
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional and Departamento de Física Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Jochen Küpper
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- The Hamburg Center for Ultrafast Imaging, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
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