Coherence phenomena in laser-atom interactions have been a focus of interest for decades. However, due to the small size of typical molecular transition moments, the field of coherence effects in laser-molecule interactions closer to its infancy. In addition, unlike atoms, even the simplest molecules are open systems, in that every excited molecular ro-vibrational level is radiatively coupled to many more energy levels than any atomic excited state. Thus, molecules – with their rich excitation pathways and the variety of molecular interactions – and molecular coherence effects make attractive candidates in the development of novel applications in this field. molecular coherence effects comprise an exciting and novel emerging area with powerful applications.

By utilizing narrowband, continuous wave (CW) lasers and appropriately filtered laser induced fluorescence (LIF), we have benefitted from the high resolution techniques of multiple resonance laser spectroscopy.

We have demonstrated through our recent work that molecular coherence effects including Autler Townes (AT) splitting and Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (EIT) can be used to control molecular motion, quantum state character and as a novel means to learn about molecular structure and dynamics.