former Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry

We work on the leading-edge researches for development of new chemical reactions especially using photon fields as reaction fields. We have so far been contributing from a theoretical viewpoint to the progress of "quantum control of chemical reactions", one of the unexplored fields of chemistry in the 21st century. Quantum control is a new method to obtain only a desired product by directly controlling the quantum state of a reaction system with lights (lasers).

We focus on internal quantum states of molecules (intramolecular electron motion, vibration, and rotation) and attempt to establish the quantum control methods of chemical reactions. In particular, we deal with phenomena of chemical and physical interest such as laser control of electron spin, molecular alignment/orientation, and photodissociation. Moreover, femtosecond/attosecond electron dynamics of atoms and molecules under high-density laser pulse irradiation is enthusiastically studied. On the basis of these achievements, our research has recently been extended to the reaction dynamics in nano/bio systems represented by fullerene and DNA.

We actively collaborate not only with Japanese theoretical and experimental groups but also with research groups all over the world (U.S., Canada, Germany, Austria, Taiwan, and India) as a center of quantum control study of chemical reactions in Japan.