We show that rotational line spectra of molecular clusters with near zero permanent dipole moments can be observed using impulsive alignment. Aligned rotational wave packets were generated by non-resonant interaction with intense femtosecond laser pump pulses and then probed using Coulomb explosion by a second, time-delayed femtosecond laser pulse. By means of a Fourier transform a rich spectrum of rotational eigenstates was derived. Guided by ab initio calculations for the smallest cluster comprising of a single acetylene molecule and a helium atom, essentially all rotational eigenstates up to the dissociation threshold could be established, providing a comprehensive picture of the rotational energy level structure. The C2H2-He complex is found to exhibit distinct features of large amplitude motion and very early onset of free internal rotor energy level structure.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:657573 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Galinis, Gediminas |
| Contributors | von Haeften, Klaus; Ellis, Andrew |
| Publisher | University of Leicester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/2381/32516 |
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