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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 82 » Issue 17
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 3420–3423 (1999)

Optical Centrifuge for Molecules

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Joanna Karczmarek1, James Wright2, Paul Corkum1, and Misha Ivanov1
1SIMS NRC, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
2Ottawa-Carleton Chemistry Institute, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6

Received 5 October 1998; published in the issue dated 26 April 1999

See accompanying Physics Focus

Strong infrared fields can be used for controlled spinning of molecules to very high angular momentum states. The angular momentum acquired can be sufficient to break molecular bonds. The approach is suitable for all anisotropic molecules, and we illustrate it by dissociating a homonuclear diatomic Cl2, with optical centrifuge efficiently separating Cl35 and Cl37 isotopes and thus demonstrating high sensitivity to the moment of inertia.

© 1999 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.3420
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.3420
PACS:
33.80.Rv, 82.50.Fv
 
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