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Investigation Of Alignment Dynamics In Mg-Ne And Mg-Ar Two-Photon Fractional Collisions, David Allen Olsgaard

Physics Theses & Dissertations

A new technique is used to observe the dynamics of electronic alignment in a dissociating collision complex. The technique requires the absorption of two optical photons during a single binary collision. Two exciting light fields are tuned into the wings of the 3s¹s₀-3p₁ and 3p¹p₁-5s¹s₀ resonances of Mg where strong collisions with rare gas atoms induce transitions between corresponding molecular states. The alignment produced in the intermediate state by the first excitation is probed by the second laser as a function of relative linear laser polarization and laser …