Relaxation of the Optical Anisotropy of Gas-Phase Molecular Complexes

The kinetics of optically induced anisotropy in molecular complexes with a nonequilibrium rotational distribution arising during their formation in the gas phase are calculated. It is shown that damped periodic oscillations, the period and amplitude of which depend on additional angular moments, appear in the anisotropy relaxation kinetics. The additional angular moments are determined by force moment vectors during translational-rotational exchange taking into account the law of conservation of total angular momentum of the molecules forming the complex. Anisotropy relaxation becomes significantly modulated as their magnitude increases. The estimated degree of optical anisotropy modulation and force moments during chemical bond formation can be used to clarify the stereodynamics of the complex-formation process.