COHERENT AND INCOHERENT LASER CONTROL OF PHOTOCHEMICAL-REACTIONS

Coherent radiative control provides a quantum-interference-based metho d for controlling molecular dynamics. This theory is reviewed and appl ications to a variety of processes including photodissociation, asymme tric synthesis and the control of currents in semiconductors are discu ssed. State-of-the-art computations on the photodissociation of CH3I, IBr, Na2 and H2O are presented to show that a wide range of yield cont rol is possible under suitable laboratory conditions. The role of cohe rent relative laser phase is emphasized and, in a most recent developm ent, shown to be insignificant in appropriately designed high-field co ntrol experiments.