Interference effects in wave packet dynamics at the pulse optical excitation of a diatomic molecule

V.V. Eryomin, N.E. Kuz'menko, I.M. Umanskii

Khim.Fiz., v. 15 (5), p. 5-12 (1996)

ABSTRACT. Interference effects due to splitting of wave packets formed by pulse optical excitation of a diatomic molecule are considered. Packet splitting in the space of dynamical phases takes place at the moments of fractional revivals. Interference between wave packet components with the same dynamical phase manifests itself in the universal properties of the autocorrelation function and its square modulus (the survival function). Wave packet splitting in configuration space and the corresponding interference effects can be observed when a wave packet is formed in the classically allowed region of an isolated electronic state or in the crossing-term system. In these cases, phase relations between packet components are determined by classical dynamics in the relevant region of the potential curve.

Laboratory of Molecular Spectroscopy