Coherent Control of Molecular Dissociation by Selective Excitation of Nuclear Wave Packets.

ABSTRACT: We report on pump-probe control schemes to manipulate fragmentation product yields in p-nitrotoluene (PNT) cation. Strong field ionization of PNT prepares the parent cation in the ground electronic state, with coherent vibrational excitation along two normal modes: the C-C-N-O torsional mode at 80 cm^-1 and the in-plane ring-stretching mode at 650 cm^-1. Both vibrational wave packets are observed as oscillations in parent and fragment ion yields in the mass spectrum upon optical excitation. Excitation with 650 nm selectively fragments the PNT cation into C7H7+ , whereas excitation with 400 nm selectively produces C5H5+ and C3H3+ . In both cases the ion yield oscillations result from torsional wave packet excitation, but 650 and 400 nm excitation produce oscillati

SUBMITTER: Lopez Pena HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9016217 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature