Five ways to the nonresonant dynamic Stark effect

The dynamic Stark effect is the quasistatic shift in energy levels due to the application of optical fields. The effect is in many ways similar to the static Stark effect. However, the dynamic Stark effect can be applied on rapid time scales and with high energies, comparable to those of atoms and molecules themselves. The dynamic Stark effect due to nonresonant laser fields is used in a myriad of contemporary experiments to hold and align molecules, to shape potential energy surfaces, and to make rapid transient birefringence. Five approaches of increasing sophistication are used to describe the dynamic Stark effect. One application, molecular alignment, is summarized and a comparison is made between the dynamic Stark effect and Stokes light generation in a Raman scattering process. (C) 2011 American Association of Physics Teachers. [DOI: 10.1119/1.3553018]