WAVE-PACKET INTERFEROMETRY WITHOUT PHASE-LOCKING

We apply the method of ''coherence observation by interference noise'' (COIN) to molecular wave packet interferometry. In contrast to conven tional wave packet interferometry, where one has to control precisely the relative phase between the pair of time-delayed laser pulses, COIN employs a sequence of randomly phased laser pulses. Whereas in this c ase the mean signal does not reflect anymore the coherent evolution of a localized wave packet, the fluctuations around this mean still mimi c the dynamics of the propagating wave packet. We demonstrate the feas ibility of wave packet interferometry without phase-locking by simulat ing fluorescence interferograms for the Na-2-molecule. (C) 1998 Americ an Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(98)00315-8].