Coherent control for ultrafast photochemical reactions*
Regina de Vivie-Riedle**, Lukas Kurtz, and Angelika Hofmann
Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse
1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
Abstract: Many photochemical processes involving the breaking
and formation of chemical bonds take place on a femtosecond time scale.
By means of ultrafast laser pulses it became possible to monitor these
events in real time with a temporal resolution in the sub-20 fs regime.
Moving beyond the observation to the control of chemical reactions requires
additional theoretical and experimental effort. We illustrate with the
aid of selected model systems the concepts and possibilities of "passive"
and "active" control and their differences.
*Lecture presented at the XVIIIth IUPAC Symposium on
Photochemistry, Dresden, German , 22-27 July 2000.Other presentations
are published in this issue, pp.395-548.
**Corresponding author
