Abstract
We use an optical centrifuge to deposit a controllable amount of rotational energy into dense molecular ensembles. Subsequent rotation-translation energy transfer, mediated by thermal collisions, results in the localized heating of the gas and generates strong sound wave, clearly audible to the unaided ear. For the first time, the amplitude of the sound signal is analyzed as a function of the experimentally measured rotational energy and linear proportionality between the two observables is established.
Highlights
We use an optical centrifuge to deposit a controllable amount of rotational energy into dense molecular ensembles
These methods are limited to relatively low levels of rotational excitation with molecules gaining only a few units of angular momentum (2 )
The direct connection between the rotational energy and the amplitude of the sound wave has not been established beyond the perturbative limit
Summary
The direct connection between the rotational energy and the amplitude of the sound wave has not been established beyond the perturbative limit The latter is characterized by a weak nonlinear absorption through a single two-photon Raman transition, for which the expected quadratic scaling of the acoustic amplitude with the pulse intensity has been reported [4, 6]. Utilizing the tunability of the centrifuge[19], we vary the amount of rotational energy deposited into the gas of N2 or O2 molecules while recording the acoustic signal produced by the superrotors The latter is clearly audible to the unaided ear due to the ultra-high rotational energies exceeding 2.5 eV per oxygen superotor.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call