OPTIMAL SQUEEZING OF VIBRATIONAL WAVE-PACKETS IN SODIUM DIMERS

We present an application of "optimal squeezing" theory to the design of laser pulses for generation of squeezed states of material waves (states whose localization in some variable exceeds that of the ground state) in Na2. Spatiotemporal evolution of the squeezed states during and after the laser pulse is studied. We show that the optimized laser pulses can affect squeezing via three basic scenarios whose realizations depend on the desired position of the wave packet and target squeezing times. These scenarios are alternations between momentum-space and coordinate-space squeezing, interfering collisions between wave packets, and overtaking of a slow front by a fast tail. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.