Nonadiabatic alignment is a coherent approach to control over the spatial properties of molecules, wherein a short, moderately-intense laser pulse is applied to populate a broad rotational wavepacket with fascinating properties. In the limit of small isolated molecules, nonadiabatic alignment has evolved during the past 17 years into an active field of theoretical and experimental research with a rich variety of applications.In the present talk, following a brief introduction to the essential physics underlying coherent alignment, we extend this concept to complex systems, including large polyatomic molecules, dissipative media, nonrigid systems, molecular assembly, molecular conduction junctions and dense molecular ensembles. In this last system, interestingly, alignment generalizes into a collective phenomenon that gives rise to formation of molecular assembly with long range translational and orientational order, suggesting intriguing potential applications in material design.

Coherent alignment in complex systems: Fundamentals and directions

245th National Meeting (2013)

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