Control and imaging of O(D-1(2)) precession

Larmor precession of a quantum mechanical angular momentum vector about an applied magnetic field forms the basis for a range of magnetic resonance techniques, including nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging. We have used a polarized laser pump-probe scheme with velocity-map imaging detection to visualize, for the first time, the precessional motion of a quantum mechanical angular momentum vector. Photodissociation of O-2 at 157 nm provides a clean source of fast-moving O(D-1(2)) atoms, with their electronic angular momentum vector strongly aligned perpendicular to the recoil direction. In the presence of an external magnetic field, the distribution of atomic angular momenta precesses about the field direction, and polarization-sensitive images of the atomic scattering distribution recorded as a function of field strength yield 'time-lapse-photography' style movies of the precessional motion. We present movies recorded in various experimental geometries, and discuss potential consequences and applications in atmospheric chemistry and reaction dynamics.