Rotational-state- and alignment-dependent dispersion of molecules by pulsed optical standing waves

Abstract

We report on the rotational-state- and alignment- dependent, transverse dispersion of CS2 molecules affected by pulsed optical standing waves. The effective polarizability which depends on the molecular rotational states and field-induced alignment contributes dispersion process. We observe large changes in the transverse velocities (i.e., up to 80 m/s) with the standing waves, which have the steep gradient potential than propagating pulse. Frist, we reproduce experimental results by numerical simulations using the effective polarizability without considering the field-induced alignment. Second, the alignment effect, which depends both on rotational state and laser intensity, is investigated and is included in the numerical simulation. The second method is accurate for analyzing manipulation of molecules with nonresonant optical dipole force.