Controlling Isomerization Using Stimulated Raman Adiabatic Passage - Alex Brown

Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) is a powerful, strong field technique for controlling population transfer in atomic and molecular systems. In this talk, STIRAP will be introduced in the context of controlling the prototypical isomerization reaction HCN to HNC. When considering excitation processes involving the vibrational states of molecules, one must consider the high density of states that can occur. Therefore, the role that background states play in the STIRAP process will be highlighted.