DEFLECTION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULES USING THE NONRESONANT DIPOLE FORCE

The ac Stark shift produced by nonresonant radiation creates a potenti al minimum for a ground state molecule at the position where the laser intensity is maximum. The gradient of this potential exerts a force o n the molecule. We experimentally observe this force when a beam of CS 2 molecules is redirected by sending it through the intensity gradient near the focus of a laser beam. We trace the direction of the molecul es in the molecular beam, showing that the molecules that pass near th e center of the high intensity laser beam will focus.