Electronic stereodynamics in molecules and ultrafast molecular imaging based on molecular orientation techniques

2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21000003
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Review Section: Science and Engineering; Mathematics and Physics
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: SAKAI Hirofumi 東京大学, 大学院・理学系研究, 准教授 (20322034)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): MINEMOTO Shinichirou 東京大学, 大学院・理学系研究科, 助教 (90323493)
• Project Period (FY): 2009 – 2013
• Keywords: 原子・分子物理 / 高性能レーザー / 配列・配向分子 / 高次高調波発生 / 搬送波包絡位相 / トンネルイオン化 / 超閾イオン化 / プラズマシャッター

Research Abstract

Laser-field-free one- and three-dimensional orientation of state-selected asymmetric top molecules has been achieved by rapidly turning off a linearly- and elliptically-polarized laser field, respectively, in a weak electrostatic field. After the success of the proof-of-principle experiment of all-optical molecular orientation with an intense nonresonant two-color laser field, higher degrees of molecular orientation have been achieved with state-selected molecules. Completely field-free molecular orientation can be achieved by rapidly turning off an intense nonresonant two-color laser field with the plasma shutter technique. On the other hand, various new findings have been obtained by observing both intensity and phase spectra of high-order harmonics generated in aligned molecules with carrier-envelope-phase-stabilized femtosecond pulses. The most advanced and sophisticated molecular imaging technique has been developed and the studies on “electronic stereodynamics in molecules” have been successfully opened.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Laser-field-free orientation of state-selected asymmetric top molecules (2014)
  • Author(s): Je Hoi Mun, Daisuke Takei, Shinichirou Minemoto, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: Phys. Rev. A Volume: 89 Pages: 051402(R)(5)
  • DOI: DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.89.051402
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Characteristics of high-order harmonics generated from atoms and aligned molecules with carrier-envelope-phase-stabilized 25-fs pulses (2014)
  • Author(s): Yusuke Sakemi, Kosaku Kato, Shinichirou Minemoto, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: Phys. Rev. A Volume: 85 Pages: 051801(R)(4)
  • DOI: DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.85.051801
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Suppression of high-order-harmonic intensities observed in aligned CO_2 molecules with 1300-nm and 800-nm pulses (2011)
  • Author(s): Kosaku Kato, Shinichirou Minemoto, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: Phys. Rev. A Volume: 84 Pages: 021403(R)(4)
  • DOI: DOI:10:1103/PhysRevA.84.021403
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Measuring polarizability anisotropies of rare gas diatomic molecules by laser-induced molecular alignment technique (2011)
  • Author(s): Shinichirou Minemoto and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: J. Chem. Phys Volume: 134 Pages: 214305(9)
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Effect of nuclear motion observed in high-order harmonic generation from D_2/H_2 molecules with intense multi-cycle 1300 nm and 800 nm pulses (2011)
  • Author(s): Hiroki Mizutani, Shinichirou Minemoto, Yuichiro Oguchi, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: J. Phys Volume: B44 Pages: 081002(5)
  • DOI: DOI:10.1088/0953-4075/44/8/081002
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Dependence of the generation efficiency of high-order sum and difference frequencies in the extreme ultraviolet region on the wavelength of an added tunable laser field (2011)
  • Author(s): Yuichiro Oguchi, Shinichirou Minemoto, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: J. Phys. Soc. Jpn Volume: 80 Pages: 014301(8)
  • DOI: DOI:10.1143/JPSJ.80.014301
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] All-optical molecular orientation (2010)
  • Author(s): Keita Oda, Masafumi Hita, Shinichirou Minemoto, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: Phys. Rev. Lett Volume: 104 Pages: 213901(4)
  • DOI: DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.213901
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Generation of high-order sum and difference frequencies by adding an intense parallel- and perpendicular-polarized infrared laser field (2009)
  • Author(s): Yuichiro Oguchi, Shinichirou Minemoto, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Journal Title: Phys. Rev. A Volume: 80 Pages: 021804(R)(4)
  • DOI: DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.80.021804
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Observation of phase difference of near-threshold high-order harmonics generated in nitrogen molecules (2014)
  • Author(s): Kosaku Kato, Shinichirou Minemoto, Yusuke Sakemi, and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: 2014 Annual Meeting of the Spectroscopical Society of Japan and RIKEN International Symposium "The Forefront of Ultrafast Spectroscopy"
  • Place of Presentation: Wako, Japan
  • Year and Date: 2014-05-26
• [Presentation] Laser-field-free alignment and orientation of state-selected asymmetric top molecules (2013)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: International Symposium on (e, 2e), Double Photoionization and Related Topics & the 17th International Symposium on Polarization and Correlation in Electronic and Atomic Collisions
  • Place of Presentation: Hefei, China(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2013-08-01
• [Presentation] Laser-field-free orientation of state-selected molecules (2012)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: 10th Asian International Seminar on Atomic and Molecular Physics
  • Place of Presentation: Taipei, Taiwan(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2012-10-27
• [Presentation] All-optical molecular orientation and future challenges (2011)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: 9th International Conference of Computational methods in science and engineering (ICCMSE2011)
  • Place of Presentation: Halkidiki, Greece(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2011-10-04
• [Presentation] All-optical molecular orientation and future prospects (2011)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: International Symposium on Attosecond and Ultrafast Quantum Control (SASQC11)
  • Place of Presentation: London, UK (招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2011-09-08
• [Presentation] Molecular orientation with an all-optical technique (2010)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: The 13th International Symposium of Stereodynamics of Chemical Reactions (Stereodynamics 2010)
  • Place of Presentation: Santa Cruz, California, USA(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2010-12-01
• [Presentation] All-optical approach to orient gas-phase molecules (2010)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: 8th International Conference of Computational Methods in Science and Engineering (ICCMSE 2010)
  • Place of Presentation: Psalidi, Kos, Greece(招待講演: Highlighted Keynote Lecture)
  • Year and Date: 2010-10-06
• [Presentation] Recent progress in molecular manipulation techniques and their applications (2010)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: The 3rd Yonsei-Tokyo Joint Symposium on Condensed Matter Physics
  • Place of Presentation: Seoul, Korea(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2010-02-12
• [Presentation] Molecular manipulation techniques and their applications (2009)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: GCOE Workshop on Condensed Matter and Photo Sciences
  • Place of Presentation: Tokyo, Japan(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2009-10-07
• [Presentation] Laser-Field-Free Molecular Orientation (2009)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: XXVI International Conference on Photonic, Electronic, and Atomic Collisions (ICPEAC 2009)
  • Place of Presentation: Michigan, U.S.A.(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2009-07-23
• [Presentation] Recent progress in the orientational control of gas-phase molecules (2009)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: Cold Atoms and Molecules Collisions, Field-Effects, and Applications
  • Place of Presentation: Kyoto, Japan(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2009-06-24
• [Presentation] Controlling the molecular orientation in the laser-field-free condition (2009)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: The Second Conference on Ultra-Fast Dynamic Imaging of Matter
  • Place of Presentation: Ischia, Italy(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2009-04-30
• [Presentation] Recent progress in the control of molecular orientation (2009)
  • Author(s): Hirofumi Sakai
  • Organizer: RIKEN International Symposium on Attosecond Science
  • Place of Presentation: Wako, Japan(招待講演)
  • Year and Date: 2009-04-03
• [Book] "Electronic and Nuclear Dynamics in Molecular Systems," 181pp. ( 分担執筆) Section 1.10 "Alignment and Orientation of Molecules," Chapter 2 "Experimental Setups and Methods," and Chapter 4 "Molecular Manipulation Techniques with Laser Technologies and Their Applications," (2011)
  • Author(s): Yuichi Fujimura and Hirofumi Sakai
  • Total Pages: 181
  • Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd
• [Remarks] 酒井広文研究室のホームページ, 日本語
  • URL: http://www.amo-phys-s-u-tokyo.jp/
• [Remarks] 酒井広文研究室のホームページ, 英語
  • URL: http://www.amo-phys-s-u-tokyo.jp/en/
• [Remarks] Web による研究成果の発信, 雑誌論文(7) Keita Oda, Masafumi Hita, Shinichirou Minemoto, and Hirofumi Sakai, "All-optical molecular orientation," Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 213901(4 pages)(2010)の発表に伴い、プレスリリースを行った。その内容は、「全光学的分子配向制御に成功! レーザー電場のみで分子の頭と尻尾も区別して揃える新技術を開発」というタイトルで掲載されている。
  • URL: http://www.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ja/press/2010/18.html
• [Remarks] 新聞掲載,科学新聞、2010年(平成22年)6月4日(金)第4面の科学技術総合欄に、「分子の配向制御を全光学的手法で実現レーザー電場だけで分子の頭と尻尾を区別東大」というタイトルで掲載された。
• [Remarks] パンフレット,東京大学理学系研究科・理学部ニュース2010年9月号42巻3号11ページの研究ニュース欄に、「全光学的な手法で気体分子の配向制御に成功」というタイトルで掲載された。発行部数:7,000部