Fig. 1. Time evolutions of field-free molecular (a) alignment and (b) orientation along the three axes steered by the elliptically polarized laser pulse with E1=5.0×107  V/cm, E2=4.0×107  V/cm, ω1=12,500  cm−1, ω2=36  cm−1, σ1=0.4  ps, σ2=0.45  ps, a1=a2=0.5, t1=0, and t2=1Trot. The time evolutions of field-free molecular (c) alignment and (d) orientation steered by the linearly polarized laser pulses with a1=a2=1.0, while the other parameters are the same as those in (a) and (b).

Fig. 2. Populations of rotational states after the elliptically polarized laser pulse with E1=5.0×107  V/cm, E2=4.0×107  V/cm, ω1=12,500  cm−1, ω2=36  cm−1, σ1=0.4  ps, σ2=0.45  ps, a1=a2=0.5, t1=0, and t2=1Trot.

Fig. 3. (a) Maximum of alignment 〈cos2 θ〉max and (b) orientation 〈cos θ〉max as a function of delay time with E1=5.0×107  V/cm, E2=4.0×107  V/cm, ω1=12,500  cm−1, ω2=36  cm−1, σ1=0.4  ps, σ2=0.45  ps, a1=a2=0.5.

Fig. 4. (a) Plots of the maximal alignment degrees along three axes versus the elliptic parameter a1 with E1=5.0 ×107  V/cm, ω1=12,500  cm−1, σ1=0.4  ps, and t1=0. (b) Plots of the maximal orientation degrees versus the elliptic parameter a2, with E1=5.0×107  V/cm, E2=4.0×107  V/cm, ω1=12,500  cm−1, ω2=36  cm−1, σ1=0.4  ps, σ2=0.45  ps, a1=0.7, t1=0, and t2=1Trot.

Fig. 5. (a)–(e) Time evolutions of 3D alignments with different elliptic parameters a1 driven by the initial elliptically polarized laser pulse with σ1=5  ps, E1=5.0×107  V/cm, ω1=12,500  cm−1, and t1=0. (f)–(j) Time evolutions of 2D orientations with different elliptic parameters a2 steered by two elliptically polarized laser pulses with E1=5.0×107  V/cm, E2=4.0×107  V/cm, ω1=12,500  cm−1, ω2=36  cm−1, σ1=5  ps, σ2=3  ps, a1=0.7, t1=0, and t2=2Trot.