In this project in the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Bernheim will use polarized laser radiation in five studies. In one experiment, the effect of optical orientation of a reagent species on chemical equilibrium will be examined. Light-induced drift will be studied in another experiment in order to sort and spatially trap species in the gas phase. Other experiments will deal with molecular polarization pumping, relaxation of orientation and alignment, and infrared polarization-labeling spectroscsopy of polyatomic molecules. %%% Bernheim's experimental program uses polarized light to study the effect of optically induced orientation on various properties of a molecular system. For example, the equilibrium concentrations of species can be changed by exciting one of the reagents with polarized light. Studies such as those under investigation in this project, when coupled with theoretical analyses and comparisons, will go a long way towards understanding the dynamics of excited atoms and molecules.
