  We demonstrate a hard x-ray probe of laser-aligned small molecules. To align
small molecules with optical lasers, high intensities at nonresonant
wavelengths are necessary. We use 95 ps pulses focused to 40 mum from an 800 nm
Ti:sapphire laser at a peak intensity of 10^12 W/cm^2 to create an ensemble of
aligned bromotrifluoromethane (CF3Br) molecules. Linearly polarized, 120 ps
x-ray pulses, focused to 10 mum, tuned to the Br 1s --> sigma* pre-edge
resonance at 13.476 keV, probe the ensemble of laser-aligned molecules. The
demonstrated methodology has a variety of applications and can enable ultrafast
imaging of laser-controlled molecular motions with Angstrom-level resolution.
