Molecular state reconstruction by nonlinear wave packet interferometry

We show that time- and phase-resolved two-color nonlinear wave packet interferometry can be used to reconstruct the probability amplitude of an optically prepared molecular wave packet without prior knowledge of the underlying potential surface. We analyze state reconstruction in pure- and mixed-state model systems excited by shaped laser pulses and propose nonlinear wave packet interferometry as a tool for identifying optimized wave packets in coherent control experiments.