Impulsive Laser Induced Alignment of Molecules Dissolved in Helium Nanodroplets
Impulsive Laser Induced Alignment of Molecules Dissolved in Helium Nanodroplets
We show that a 450 fs nonresonant, moderately intense, linearly polarized laser pulse can induce field-free molecular axis alignment of methyliodide (${\mathrm{CH}}_{3}\mathrm{I}$) molecules dissolved in a helium nanodroplet. Time-resolved measurements reveal rotational dynamics much slower than that of isolated molecules and absence of the sharp transient alignment recurrences characteristic of …