@article{ChristiansenNielsenPentlehneretal.2015, author = {Christiansen, Lars and Nielsen, Jens H. and Pentlehner, Dominik and Underwood, Jonathan G. and Stapelfeldt, Henrik}, title = {Alignment enhancement of molecules embedded in helium nanodroplets by multiple laser pulses}, series = {Physical Review A}, journal = {Physical Review A}, number = {92}, year = {2015}, abstract = {We show experimentally that field-free one-dimensional (1D) alignment of 1,4-diiodobenzene molecules embedded in helium nanodroplets, induced by a single, linearly polarized 200-fs laser pulse, can be significantly enhanced by using two or four optimally synchronized laser pulses. The strongest degree of 1D alignment is obtained with four pulses and gives ⟨cos2θ⟩>0.60. Besides the immediate implications for molecular frame studies, our results pave the way for more general manipulation of rotational motion of molecules in He droplets.}, language = {en} }