---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '19502'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Alkali dimers, Ak2, located on the surface of a helium nanodroplet, are set
    into rotation through the polarizability interaction with a nonresonant 1-ps-long
    laser pulse. The time-dependent degree of alignment is recorded using femtosecond-probe-pulse-induced
    Coulomb explosion into a pair of Ak+ fragment ions. The results, obtained for
    Na2, K2, and Rb2 in both the ground state 11Σ+g and the lowest-lying triplet state
    13Σ+u, exhibit distinct, periodic revivals with a gradually decreasing amplitude.
    The dynamics differ from that expected for dimers had they behaved as free rotors.
    Numerically, we solve the time-dependent rotational Schrödinger equation, including
    an effective mean-field potential to describe the interaction between the dimer
    and the droplet. The experimental and simulated alignment dynamics agree well
    and their comparison enables us to determine the effective rotational constants
    of the alkali dimers with the exception of Rb2(13Σ+u) that only exhibits a prompt
    alignment peak but no subsequent revivals. For Na2(13Σ+u), K2(11Σ+g), K2(13Σ+u)
    and Rb2(11Σ+g), the alignment dynamics are well-described by a 2D rotor model.
    We ascribe this to a significant confinement of the internuclear axis of these
    dimers, induced by the orientation-dependent droplet-dimer interaction, to the
    tangential plane of their residence point on the droplet.
acknowledgement: H.S. acknowledges support from the Villum Foundation through a Villum
  Investigator Grant No. 25886. We thank Jan Thøgersen for expert help with the optics
  and the laser system.
article_number: '033114'
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Henrik H.
  full_name: Kristensen, Henrik H.
  last_name: Kristensen
- first_name: Lorenz
  full_name: Kranabetter, Lorenz
  last_name: Kranabetter
- first_name: Areg
  full_name: Ghazaryan, Areg
  id: 4AF46FD6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Ghazaryan
  orcid: 0000-0001-9666-3543
- first_name: Constant A.
  full_name: Schouder, Constant A.
  last_name: Schouder
- first_name: Emil
  full_name: Hansen, Emil
  last_name: Hansen
- first_name: Frank
  full_name: Jensen, Frank
  last_name: Jensen
- first_name: Robert E.
  full_name: Zillich, Robert E.
  last_name: Zillich
- first_name: Mikhail
  full_name: Lemeshko, Mikhail
  id: 37CB05FA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Lemeshko
  orcid: 0000-0002-6990-7802
- first_name: Henrik
  full_name: Stapelfeldt, Henrik
  last_name: Stapelfeldt
citation:
  ama: Kristensen HH, Kranabetter L, Ghazaryan A, et al. Nonadiabatic laser-induced
    alignment dynamics of alkali-metal dimers on the surface of a helium droplet.
    <i>Physical Review A</i>. 2025;111(3). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114">10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114</a>
  apa: Kristensen, H. H., Kranabetter, L., Ghazaryan, A., Schouder, C. A., Hansen,
    E., Jensen, F., … Stapelfeldt, H. (2025). Nonadiabatic laser-induced alignment
    dynamics of alkali-metal dimers on the surface of a helium droplet. <i>Physical
    Review A</i>. American Physical Society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114</a>
  chicago: Kristensen, Henrik H., Lorenz Kranabetter, Areg Ghazaryan, Constant A.
    Schouder, Emil Hansen, Frank Jensen, Robert E. Zillich, Mikhail Lemeshko, and
    Henrik Stapelfeldt. “Nonadiabatic Laser-Induced Alignment Dynamics of Alkali-Metal
    Dimers on the Surface of a Helium Droplet.” <i>Physical Review A</i>. American
    Physical Society, 2025. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114">https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114</a>.
  ieee: H. H. Kristensen <i>et al.</i>, “Nonadiabatic laser-induced alignment dynamics
    of alkali-metal dimers on the surface of a helium droplet,” <i>Physical Review
    A</i>, vol. 111, no. 3. American Physical Society, 2025.
  ista: Kristensen HH, Kranabetter L, Ghazaryan A, Schouder CA, Hansen E, Jensen F,
    Zillich RE, Lemeshko M, Stapelfeldt H. 2025. Nonadiabatic laser-induced alignment
    dynamics of alkali-metal dimers on the surface of a helium droplet. Physical Review
    A. 111(3), 033114.
  mla: Kristensen, Henrik H., et al. “Nonadiabatic Laser-Induced Alignment Dynamics
    of Alkali-Metal Dimers on the Surface of a Helium Droplet.” <i>Physical Review
    A</i>, vol. 111, no. 3, 033114, American Physical Society, 2025, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114">10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114</a>.
  short: H.H. Kristensen, L. Kranabetter, A. Ghazaryan, C.A. Schouder, E. Hansen,
    F. Jensen, R.E. Zillich, M. Lemeshko, H. Stapelfeldt, Physical Review A 111 (2025).
date_created: 2025-04-06T22:01:32Z
date_published: 2025-03-21T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-30T11:27:25Z
day: '21'
department:
- _id: MiLe
doi: 10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114
external_id:
  arxiv:
  - '2502.14521'
  isi:
  - '001459727400007'
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.111.033114
intvolume: '       111'
isi: 1
issue: '3'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2502.14521
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
publication: Physical Review A
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2469-9934
  issn:
  - 2469-9926
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Nonadiabatic laser-induced alignment dynamics of alkali-metal dimers on the
  surface of a helium droplet
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 111
year: '2025'
...