title: Field-free three-dimensional alignment of polyatomic molecules.
abstract: We experimentally demonstrate field-free, three-dimensional alignment (FF3DA) of polyatomic asymmetric top molecules. We achieve FF3DA in sulfur dioxide gas using two time-delayed, orthogonally polarized, nonresonant, femtosecond laser pulses. Our method avoids the use of rotational revivals and is therefore more robust to temperature. The alignment is probed using time-delayed coincidence Coulomb explosion imaging. FF3DA will be important for all molecular imaging, dynamics, or spectroscopy experiments for which random alignment leads to a loss of information.
authors.affiliation: Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada.
authors.forename: Kevin F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Villeneuve
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Corkum
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stolow
authors.forename: Jonathan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Underwood