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Ohshima-Yamazaki Lab
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The lab uses laser light to capture molecules in vigorous motion and control them at will.
AboutAbout the lab
Capturing molecules in vigorous motion and controlling them at will
The Ohshima-Yamazaki Lab uses laser light to study how to capture and control molecular motion.
Unlike molecular formulas written on paper, real molecules fly around in space, rotate, and vibrate.
The lab aims to capture such molecular motion vividly and to control it at will.
It also works to make the motions of electrons and atoms inside molecules visible, in order to explore the origin and driving forces of chemical reactions.
Key terms
- wave function
- A function in quantum mechanics that describes the state of a particle. It also describes the vibration and rotation of molecules.
- intermolecular force
- A weak force acting between molecules. It is deeply involved in the properties of matter, such as the structure of solutions and solids.
- molecular cluster
- A small assembly of several molecules weakly bound together by intermolecular forces.
NewsLab news
Professor Ohshima won the School of Science Education Award
A doctoral student won the Outstanding Poster Award at the Annual Meeting of the Atomic Collision Society of Japan
Students won the Outstanding Presentation Award and the Outstanding Poster Award at the Symposium on Molecular Science
A student won a Poster Award at an international workshop in Taiwan
A student won an Outstanding Poster Presentation Award at the T2CoMSA annual meeting in Taiwan
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to vividly capture molecules in vigorous motion and to control that motion at will. Its work includes controlling molecular motion with laser light, developing instruments that image molecular motion, and visualizing the motions of electrons and atoms inside molecules.
*Illustrative imageAligning and controlling molecular rotation
By applying extremely short light pulses to cooled molecules, the lab has succeeded in making them rotate in unison, either clockwise or counterclockwise. It aims to determine molecular wave functions experimentally.
*Illustrative imageLaser spectroscopy of molecular clusters
The lab uses molecular clusters, in which molecules are weakly bound by intermolecular forces, as models for studying interactions between molecules. It precisely measures the spectra of clusters containing benzene to investigate interactions involving aromatic compounds.
*Illustrative imageNew laser sources for controlling molecules
Toward realizing chirped adiabatic Raman passage, a method for selectively transferring molecular quantum states, the lab has developed a light source. It is a narrow-bandwidth nanosecond pulsed light source based on optical parametric amplification.
*Illustrative imageInstruments for filming molecular movies
Imaging is a powerful method for understanding the structure and motion of molecules. To film "movies" of fast-moving molecules, the lab is designing and developing a new instrument based on an original measurement principle.
MembersFaculty
The Ohshima-Yamazaki Lab consists of faculty members, secretaries, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorYasuhiro OhshimaPublications ↗
- Program-Specific ProfessorMasakazu YamazakiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorMasaaki NakamuraPublications ↗
- Program-Specific LecturerMizuse KentaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “LOA1” Ecole polytechnique / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Aligning and controlling molecular rotation: “ODIN Ti-Sapphire laser in operation” FDominec / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Laser spectroscopy of molecular clusters: “Benzene-3D-balls” Benjah-bmm27 / Public domain (cropped)
- New laser sources for controlling molecules: “Titanium sapphire oscillator” Hankwang / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Instruments for filming molecular movies: “COVID-19- DOE Response Researchers with UEM microscope ( )” U.S. Department of Energy from United States / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (沖本研究室): “Ferroelectric domains at a PZT grain boundary ( )” Oak Ridge National Laboratory / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (北島研究室): “Photoemission laboratory” Food95 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (西野研究室): “Molecular Electronics ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (河野研究室): “Structure of NU-1000” Georgina P. Robertson, Sara Mosca, Celia Castillo-Blas, Florencia A. Son, Omar K. Farha, David A. Keen, Simone Anzellini, and Thomas D. Bennett / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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