Many chemical reactions utilize organometallic complexes as catalysts. These complexes find use in reactions as varied as bond activation, polymerization, and isomerization. This thesis outlines the construction of a new ultrafast laser system with an emphasis on the generation of tunable mid-infrared pulses, data collection, and data analysis.

Precision pointing and tracking of laser beams is critical in numerous military and industrial applications. This is particularly true for systems requiring atmospheric beam propagation. Such systems are plagued by environmental influences which cause the optical signal to break up and wander. Example applications include laser communications, precision targeting, active imaging, chemical remote sensing, and laser vibrometry. The goal of this project is to build a beam steering system using a two-axis mirror to maintain precise pointing control. Ultimately, position control to 0.08% accuracy (40 {micro}rad) with a bandwidth of 200 Hz is desired. The work described encompasses evaluation of the instrumentation system and the subsequent design and implementation of an analog electronic controller for a two-axis mirror used to steer the beam. The controller operates over a wide temperature range, through multiple mirror resonances, and is independent of specific mirrors. The design was built and successfully fielded in a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory free-space optics experiment. All measurements and performance parameters are derived from measurements made on actual hardware that was built and field tested. In some cases, specific design details have been omitted that involve proprietary information pertaining to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory patent positions and claims. These …

Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs) are universal functions which provide a comprehensive description of hadron properties in terms of quarks and gluons. Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering (DVCS) is the simplest hard exclusive process involving GPDs. In particular, the DVCS on the neutron is mostly sensitive to E, the less constrained GPD, wich allows to access to the quark angular momentum. The first dedicated DVCS experiment on the neutron ran in the Hall A of Jefferson Lab in fall 2004. The high luminosity of the experiment and the resulting background rate recquired specific devices which are decribed in this document. The analysis methods and the experiment results, leading to preliminary constraints on the GPD E, are presented.