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Molecular spectroscopy

Forbidden vibrations

Laser control of atomic ions through dipole-forbidden transitions has provided a way of probing quantum mechanics. These transitions have now been observed in molecular ions, opening the door to a new generation of spectroscopy experiments.

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Figure 1: a, Nitrogen molecular ions (N2+) are deterministically produced in their internal ground state by resonant multiphoton ionization of N2 (ref. 8).

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Correspondence to Jeroen C. J. Koelemeij.

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Koelemeij, J. Forbidden vibrations. Nature Phys 10, 800–801 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3113

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