Dynamics of quantum wave packets

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The objective of this project was to develop ultrafast laser techniques for the creation and measurement of quantum vibrational wave packets in gas phase diatomic molecules. Moreover, the authors sought to manipulate the constitution of these wave packets in terms of harmonic-oscillator basis wavefunctions by manipulating the time-dependent amplitude and phase of the incident ultrashort laser pulse. They specifically investigated gaseous diatomic potassium (K{sub 2}), and discovered variations in the shape of the wave packets as a result of changing the linear chirp in the ultrashort preparation pulse. In particular, they found evidence for wave-packet compression for a specific degree of chirp. Important ancillary results include development of new techniques for denoising and deconvolution of femtosecond time traces and techniques for diagnosing the phase and amplitude of the electric field of femtosecond laser pulses