Quantum Localization of Coherent π-Electron Angular Momentum in (P)-2,2'-Biphenol.

Abstract

Controlling π-electrons with delocalized character is one of the fundamental issues in femtosecond and attosecond chemistry. Localization of π-electron rotation by using laser pulses is expected to play an essential role in nanoscience. The π-electron rotation created at a selected aromatic ring of a single molecule induces a local intense electromagnetic field, which is a new type of ultrafast optical control functioning. We propose a quantum localization of coherent π-electron angular momentum in (P)-2,2'-biphenol, which is a simple, covalently linked chiral aromatic ring chain molecule. The localization considered here consists of sequential two steps: the first step is to localize the π-electron angular momentum at a selected ring of the two benzene rings, and the other is to maintain the localization. Optimal control theory was used for obtaining the optimized electric fields of linearly polarized laser pulses to realize the localization. The optimal electric fields and the resultant coherent electronic dynamics are analyzed.