Multiphoton dissociation of molecules with low power CW infrared lasers

Abstract

The multiphoton excitation of molecules by infrared radiation offers a new form of molecular activation which has captured the imagination of a sizeable audience of physicists and chemists. Many intriguing possibilities for chemical applications result from the selectivity which can be achieved using intense, narrow band lasers to excite specific molecular species, including isotopic variants. The ability to create a hot molecule in a cool environment brings chemists close to the realization of a tame Maxwell's Demon.

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