Molecular Alignment and Orientation: From Laser-Induced Mechanisms to Optimal Control

20 pages, 15 figures, presented at the CRM conference "Quantum Control: Mathematical and Numerical Challenges", to appear in CRM Proc. Lecture Notes. Version 2 corrects typing mistakesGenetic algorithms, as implemented in optimal control strategies, are currently successfully exploited in a wide range of problems in molecular physics. In this context, laser control of molecular alignment and orientation remains a very promising issue with challenging applications extending from chemical reactivity to nanoscale design. We emphasize the complementarity between basic quantum mechanisms monitoring alignment/orientation processes and optimal control scenarios. More explicitly, if on one hand we can help the optimal control scheme to take advantage of such mechanisms by appropriately building the targets and delineating the parameter sampling space, on the other hand we expect to learn, from optimal control results, some robust and physically sound dynamical mechanisms. We present basic mechanisms for alignment and orientation, such as pendular states accommodated by the molecule-plus-field effective potential and the "kick" mechanism obtained by a sudden excitation. Very interestingly, an optimal control scheme for orientation, based on genetic algorithms, also leads to a sudden pulsed field bearing the characteristic features of the kick mechanism. Optimal pulse shaping for very efficient and long-lasting orientation, together with robustness with respect to temperature effects, are among our future prospects