Intensity-independent molecular rotational decoherence lifetimes measured with mean wavelength shifts of femtosecond pulses

Hongqiang Xie; Guihua Li; Jinping Yao; Wei Chu; Zhiming Chen; Ya Cheng

doi:10.3788/COL201816.120201

Journals >Chinese Optics Letters >Volume 16 >Issue 12 >Page 120201 > Article

Chinese Optics Letters
Vol. 16, Issue 12, 120201 (2018)

Intensity-independent molecular rotational decoherence lifetimes measured with mean wavelength shifts of femtosecond pulses

Hongqiang Xie^1、2, Guihua Li³, Jinping Yao², Wei Chu², Zhiming Chen¹, and Ya Cheng^2、4、*

Author Affiliations

¹School of Science, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China

²State Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China

³School of Science, East China Jiaotong University, Nanchang 330013, China

⁴Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China

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DOI: 10.3788/COL201816.120201 Cite this Article Set citation alerts

Hongqiang Xie, Guihua Li, Jinping Yao, Wei Chu, Zhiming Chen, Ya Cheng. Intensity-independent molecular rotational decoherence lifetimes measured with mean wavelength shifts of femtosecond pulses[J]. Chinese Optics Letters, 2018, 16(12): 120201 Copy Citation Text

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Abstract

We report on an experimental investigation on the dynamic decoherence process of molecular rotational wavepackets during femtosecond laser filamentation based on time-dependent mean wavelength shifts of a weak probe pulse. Details of periodic revival structures of transient alignment can be readily obtained from the measured shifted spectra due to the periodic modulation of the molecular refractive index. Using the method, we measured decoherence lifetimes of molecular rotational wavepackets in

N_{2}

and

O_{2}

under different experimental conditions. Our results indicate that decoherence lifetimes of molecular rotational wavepackets are primarily determined by the relative population of rotational states in the wave packet and intermolecular collisions, rather than the focusing intensity.