No Arabic abstract
The two- and three-body Coulomb explosion of carbonyl sulfide (OCS) by 790 nm, 50 fs laser pulses focussed to $approx $ 10$^{16}$ Wcm$^{-2}$ has been investigated by three-dimensional covariance mapping technique. For the first time in a triatomic molecule, a single charge state, in this case the trication, has been observed to dissociate into two distinct energy channels. With the aid of a three dimensional visualization technique to reveal the ionization hierarchy, evidence is presented for the existence of two sets of ionization pathways resulting from these two initial states. While one group of ions can be modeled using a Classical enhanced ionization model, the second group, consisting of mainly asymmetric channels, can not. The results provide clear evidence that an enhanced ionization approach must also be accompanied by an appreciation of the effects of excited ionic states and multi-electronic processes.
The laser-induced fragmentation dynamics of this most fundamental polar molecule HeH$^+$ are measured using an ion beam of helium hydride and an isotopologue at various wavelengths and intensities. In contrast to the prevailing interpretation of strong-field fragmentation, in which stretching of the molecule results primarily from laser-induced electronic excitation, experiment and theory for nonionizing dissociation, single ionization and double ionization both show that the direct vibrational excitation plays the decisive role here. We are able to reconstruct fragmentation pathways and determine the times at which each ionization step occurs as well as the bond length evolution before the electron removal. The dynamics of this extremely asymmetric molecule contrast the well-known symmetric systems leading to a more general picture of strong-field molecular dynamics and facilitating interpolation to systems between the two extreme cases.
We present a combined experimental and theoretical study on strong-field ionization of a three-dimensionally oriented asymmetric top molecule, benzonitrile (C$_7$H$_5$N), by circularly polarized, nonresonant femtosecond laser pulses. Prior to the interaction with the strong field, the molecules are quantum-state selected using a deflector, and 3-dimensionally (3D) aligned and oriented adiabatically using an elliptically polarized laser pulse in combination with a static electric field. A characteristic splitting in the molecular frame photoelectron momentum distribution reveals the position of the nodal planes of the molecular orbitals from which ionization occurs. The experimental results are supported by a theoretical tunneling model that includes and quantifies the splitting in the momentum distribution. The focus of the present article is to understand strong-field ionization from 3D-oriented asymmetric top molecules, in particular the suppression of electron emission in nodal planes of molecular orbitals. In the preceding article [Dimitrovski et al., Phys. Rev. A 83, 023405 (2011)] the focus is to understand the strong-field ionization of one-dimensionally-oriented polar molecules, in particular asymmetries in the emission direction of the photoelectrons.
Diatomic molecules (e.g., O$_2$) in intense laser field exhibit a peculiar suppressed ionization behavior compared to their companion atoms. Several physical models have been proposed to account for this suppression while no consensus has been achieved. In this letter, we aim to clarify the underlying mechanisms behind this molecular ionization suppression. Experimental data recorded at midinfrared laser wavelength and its comparison with that at near-infrared wavelength revealed a peculiar wavelength and intensity dependence of the suppressed ionization of O$_2$ with respect to its companion atom of Xe, while N$_2$ behaves like a structureless atom. It is found that the S-matrix theory calculation can reproduce well the experimental observations and unambiguously identifies the significant role of two-center interference effect in the ionization suppression of O$_2$.
We examine correlated electron and doubly charged ion momentum spectra from strong field double ionization of Neon employing intense elliptically polarized laser pulses. An ellipticity-dependent asymmetry of correlated electron and ion momentum distributions has been observed. Using a 3D semiclassical model, we demonstrate that our observations reflect the sub-cycle dynamics of the recollision process. Our work reveals a general physical picture for recollision-impact double ionization with elliptical polarization, and demonstrates the possibility of ultrafast control of the recollision dynamics.
We describe new exact results for a model of ionization of a bound state, induced by an oscillating potential. In particular we have obtained exact expressions, in the form of readily computable rapidly convergent sums, for the energy distribution of the emitted particles as a function of time, frequency and strength of the oscillating potential. Going beyond perturbation theory, these show resonances in the energy distribution which look like single or multi-photon absorption, similar to those observed in laser induced electron emission from solids or atoms. This is particularly so when the strength of the oscillating potential is small compared to the binding energy but is still visible for large fields, and even for time-periods of a few oscillations. We have also obtained the space-time structure of the wave function. Our model exhibits a form of stabilization; the ionization probability is not monotone in the strength of the oscillating potential.