During his PhD studies, Henrik Høj Kristensen studied how molecules on the surface of helium nanodroplets can be set into rotation and aligned using a picosecond laser pulse. The droplets consist of superfluid liquid helium and provide a controlled environment where the molecules, here alkali dimers, can be embedded and studied on the surface. Time-resolved measurements reveal that the alkali dimers align periodically following the interaction with the laser pulse and that the rotational motion of the dimers on the surface is well described by a 2D quantum rotor model.

The new research findings contribute to the understanding of how molecules can be rotated and controlled by laser pulses and paves the way for further research on the interactions between the molecules and the helium nanodroplets.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Thursday, 24 October 2024 at 13:15
Place: Building 1523, room 318, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C.
Title of PhD thesis: Laser-induced Alignment and Coulomb Explosion of Alkali Dimers on Helium Droplets
Contact information: Henrik Høj Kristensen, e-mail: henrik@chem.au.dk, tel.: +45 26 37 58 90
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Till Jahnke, Institut für Kernphysik, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Germany
Professor Claire Vallance, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Associate professor Karsten Riisager (chair), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor:
Professor Henrik Stapelfeldt, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C