Mutual influence of rotations and vibrations of a strongly 'kicked' diatomic heteronuclear molecule

The interaction of a diatomic heteronuclear molecule with strong ultrashort electromagnetic pulses is investigated by direct numerical integration of the nonstationary Schroedinger equation. The direct action of the pulse on the nuclear subsystem of a molecule is considered and both rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom are taken into account. The strong mutual influence of rotational and vibrational dynamics on each other is found and the possibility to provide an efficient rotational excitation and molecular orientation is established. In the case of the 'δ-pulse' action, an analytical approach is developed to describe the ro-vibrational behaviour of the molecule in the after-pulse regime. The features of the field-induced coherent ro-vibrational wave packet are analyzed and the polarization signal at teraherz frequencies is found. (letter)