Orientation dynamics of asymmetric rotors using random phase wave functions

Abstract

Intense terahertz-frequency pulses induce coherent rotational dynamics and orientation of polar molecular ensembles. Exact numerical methods for rotational dynamics at room temperature are computationally not feasible for the vast majority of molecular rotors: the asymmetric top molecules at ambient temperatures. We exemplify the use of random phase wave functions (RPWFs) by calculating the terahertz-induced rotational dynamics of sulfur dioxide at ambient temperatures and high-field strengths and show that the RPWF method gains efficiency with the increase in temperature and in the terahertz-field strengths. The present method provides wide-ranging computational access to rotational dynamical responses of molecules at experimental conditions that are far beyond the reach of exact numerical methods.