The main focus of my research is to develop methods to align and orient small molecules in the gas phase, and to study ultrafast physics in the molecular frame. Gas phase measurements are essential to studying molecular properties and behavior in external fields without undue influence of other molecules. But these molecules have random orientations and, historically, the vast majority of experiments have only been able to obtain orientation-averaged information. Laser-induced alignment and orientation has emerged as a powerful technique to overcome orientational averaging, particularly in time-resolved measurements using ultrafast lasers. Intense ultrashort laser pulses, with durations ranging from femtoseconds to nanoseconds, are used to restrict the orientational distribution of molecules. My group uses rotationally cold molecules and multiple femtosecond laser pulses to align and orient molecules.
Apart from experiments, we also do all the computations required to simulate and understand the rotational wavepacket dynamics of molecules.
Research Interests: Ultrafast processes in aligned molecules.
Expertise: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
