Observation of Vibrational Overtones by Single-Molecule Resonant Photodissociation
Abstract
Molecular ions can be held in a chain of laser-cooled atomic ions by sympathetic cooling. This system is ideal for performing high-precision molecular spectroscopy with applications in astrochemistry and fundamental physics. Here we show that this same system can be coupled with a broadband laser to discover new molecular transitions. We use three-ion chains of Ca and CaH to observe vibrational transitions via resonance-enhanced multiphoton dissociation detected by Ca fluorescence. On the basis of theoretical calculations, we assign the observed peaks to the transition from the ground vibrational state,n0 to n9 and 10. Our method allows us to track single-molecular events, and it can be extended to work with any molecule by using normal mode frequency shifts to detect the dissociation. This survey spectroscopy serves as a bridge to the precision spectroscopy required for molecular ion control.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 22, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1058160
Entities
People
- Gang Shu
- Kenneth R. Brown
- Ncamiso B. Khanyile
Organizations
- Georgia Tech