Communication: Strong laser alignment of solvent-solute aggregates in the gas-phase

J Chem Phys. 2018 Mar 14;148(10):101103. doi: 10.1063/1.5023645.

Abstract

Strong quasi-adiabatic laser alignment of the indole-water-dimer clusters, an amino-acid chromophore bound to a single water molecule through a hydrogen bond, was experimentally realized. The alignment was visualized through ion and electron imaging following strong-field ionization. Molecular-frame photoelectron angular distributions showed a clear suppression of the electron yield in the plane of the ionizing laser's polarization, which was analyzed as strong alignment of the molecular cluster with ⟨cos2 θ2D⟩ ≥ 0.9.