Experimental observation of revival structures in picosecond laser-induced alignment of I2 -: art. no. 153902

We report the experimental observation of revival structures in the alignment of a ground-state rotational wave packet following nonresonant excitation of I-2 molecules by an intense picosecond laser pulse. The revivals appear at characteristic time delays following the excitation by the pump laser pulse, and show a significant narrowing of the angular distribution during a few picoseconds. The interaction with the pump laser also leads to a steady-state alignment of the molecule, due to rotational pumping.