Recent experiments by Herek, Materny and Zewail [Chem.
Phys. Lett.
1994, 228, 15] have
demonstrated that
the timing between two transform-limited, ultrafast laser pulses can be
used to control the branching ratio of
Na* (electronically excited atomic sodium) to Na in the
photodissociation of NaI. In this work, we
theoretically
show that, by varying the linear chirp of the first pulse without
changing its power spectrum or field strength
versus time, the Na* to Na branching ratio can be controlled over a
large range with a fixed interpulse delay
time and a fixed form of the second pulse. Theory predicts that at
0 K the branching ratio can be varied by
a factor of 3, while at high temperatures (1000 K), the factor drops to
approximately 1.2 due to the effect of
the wide distribution of initial states. Experimental results at
1000 K are presented and are found to be
consistent with theory. Several possible experimental methods are
discussed to overcome the effects of the
thermal distribution of initial states.