Above-threshold ionization and laser-induced electron diffraction in diatomic molecules

Noslen Suárez; Alexis Chacón; Marcelo F. Ciappina; Benjamin Wolter; Jens Biegert; Maciej Lewenstein

doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.94.043423

Above-threshold ionization and laser-induced electron diffraction in diatomic molecules

Noslen Suárez, Alexis Chacón, Marcelo F. Ciappina, Benjamin Wolter, Jens Biegert, Maciej Lewenstein

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Strong-field photoemission and electron recollision provide a viable route to extract electronic and nuclear dynamics from molecular targets with attosecond temporal resolution. However, since an ab initio treatment of even the simplest diatomic systems is beyond today's capabilities, approximate qualitative descriptions are warranted. In this paper, we develop such a theoretical approach to model the photoelectrons resulting from intense laser-molecule interaction. We present a general theory for symmetric diatomic molecules in the single active electron approximation that, amongst other capabilities, allows adjusting both the internuclear separation and molecular potential in a direct and simple way. More importantly, we derive an analytic approximate solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE), based on a generalized strong-field approximation (SFA) version. Using that approach, we obtain expressions for electron emitted transition amplitudes from two different molecular centers, and accelerated then in the strong laser field. In addition, our approach directly underpins different underlying physical processes that correspond to (i) direct tunneling ionization; (ii) electron rescattering on the center of origin; and, finally, (iii) electron rescattering on a different center. One innovative aspect of our theory is the fact that the dipole matrix elements are free from nonphysical gauge and coordinate system-dependent terms: this is achieved by adapting the coordinate system, in which SFA is performed, to the center from which the corresponding part of the time-dependent wave function originates. Our analytic results agree very well with the numerical solution of the full three-dimensional TDSE for the H2+ molecule. Moreover, the theoretical model was applied to describe laser-induced electron diffraction measurements of O2+ molecules, obtained at ICFO, and reproduces the main features of the experiment very well. Our approach can be extended in a natural way to more complex molecules and multielectron systems.

Original language	English
Article number	043423
Journal	Physical Review A
Volume	94
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.94.043423
State	Published - 27 Oct 2016
Externally published	Yes

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10.1103/PhysRevA.94.043423

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title = "Above-threshold ionization and laser-induced electron diffraction in diatomic molecules",

abstract = "Strong-field photoemission and electron recollision provide a viable route to extract electronic and nuclear dynamics from molecular targets with attosecond temporal resolution. However, since an ab initio treatment of even the simplest diatomic systems is beyond today's capabilities, approximate qualitative descriptions are warranted. In this paper, we develop such a theoretical approach to model the photoelectrons resulting from intense laser-molecule interaction. We present a general theory for symmetric diatomic molecules in the single active electron approximation that, amongst other capabilities, allows adjusting both the internuclear separation and molecular potential in a direct and simple way. More importantly, we derive an analytic approximate solution of the time-dependent Schr{\"o}dinger equation (TDSE), based on a generalized strong-field approximation (SFA) version. Using that approach, we obtain expressions for electron emitted transition amplitudes from two different molecular centers, and accelerated then in the strong laser field. In addition, our approach directly underpins different underlying physical processes that correspond to (i) direct tunneling ionization; (ii) electron rescattering on the center of origin; and, finally, (iii) electron rescattering on a different center. One innovative aspect of our theory is the fact that the dipole matrix elements are free from nonphysical gauge and coordinate system-dependent terms: this is achieved by adapting the coordinate system, in which SFA is performed, to the center from which the corresponding part of the time-dependent wave function originates. Our analytic results agree very well with the numerical solution of the full three-dimensional TDSE for the H2+ molecule. Moreover, the theoretical model was applied to describe laser-induced electron diffraction measurements of O2+ molecules, obtained at ICFO, and reproduces the main features of the experiment very well. Our approach can be extended in a natural way to more complex molecules and multielectron systems.",

author = "Noslen Su{\'a}rez and Alexis Chac{\'o}n and Ciappina, {Marcelo F.} and Benjamin Wolter and Jens Biegert and Maciej Lewenstein",

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AU - Suárez, Noslen

AU - Chacón, Alexis

AU - Ciappina, Marcelo F.

AU - Wolter, Benjamin

AU - Biegert, Jens

AU - Lewenstein, Maciej

PY - 2016/10/27

Y1 - 2016/10/27

N2 - Strong-field photoemission and electron recollision provide a viable route to extract electronic and nuclear dynamics from molecular targets with attosecond temporal resolution. However, since an ab initio treatment of even the simplest diatomic systems is beyond today's capabilities, approximate qualitative descriptions are warranted. In this paper, we develop such a theoretical approach to model the photoelectrons resulting from intense laser-molecule interaction. We present a general theory for symmetric diatomic molecules in the single active electron approximation that, amongst other capabilities, allows adjusting both the internuclear separation and molecular potential in a direct and simple way. More importantly, we derive an analytic approximate solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE), based on a generalized strong-field approximation (SFA) version. Using that approach, we obtain expressions for electron emitted transition amplitudes from two different molecular centers, and accelerated then in the strong laser field. In addition, our approach directly underpins different underlying physical processes that correspond to (i) direct tunneling ionization; (ii) electron rescattering on the center of origin; and, finally, (iii) electron rescattering on a different center. One innovative aspect of our theory is the fact that the dipole matrix elements are free from nonphysical gauge and coordinate system-dependent terms: this is achieved by adapting the coordinate system, in which SFA is performed, to the center from which the corresponding part of the time-dependent wave function originates. Our analytic results agree very well with the numerical solution of the full three-dimensional TDSE for the H2+ molecule. Moreover, the theoretical model was applied to describe laser-induced electron diffraction measurements of O2+ molecules, obtained at ICFO, and reproduces the main features of the experiment very well. Our approach can be extended in a natural way to more complex molecules and multielectron systems.

AB - Strong-field photoemission and electron recollision provide a viable route to extract electronic and nuclear dynamics from molecular targets with attosecond temporal resolution. However, since an ab initio treatment of even the simplest diatomic systems is beyond today's capabilities, approximate qualitative descriptions are warranted. In this paper, we develop such a theoretical approach to model the photoelectrons resulting from intense laser-molecule interaction. We present a general theory for symmetric diatomic molecules in the single active electron approximation that, amongst other capabilities, allows adjusting both the internuclear separation and molecular potential in a direct and simple way. More importantly, we derive an analytic approximate solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE), based on a generalized strong-field approximation (SFA) version. Using that approach, we obtain expressions for electron emitted transition amplitudes from two different molecular centers, and accelerated then in the strong laser field. In addition, our approach directly underpins different underlying physical processes that correspond to (i) direct tunneling ionization; (ii) electron rescattering on the center of origin; and, finally, (iii) electron rescattering on a different center. One innovative aspect of our theory is the fact that the dipole matrix elements are free from nonphysical gauge and coordinate system-dependent terms: this is achieved by adapting the coordinate system, in which SFA is performed, to the center from which the corresponding part of the time-dependent wave function originates. Our analytic results agree very well with the numerical solution of the full three-dimensional TDSE for the H2+ molecule. Moreover, the theoretical model was applied to describe laser-induced electron diffraction measurements of O2+ molecules, obtained at ICFO, and reproduces the main features of the experiment very well. Our approach can be extended in a natural way to more complex molecules and multielectron systems.

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ER -

Above-threshold ionization and laser-induced electron diffraction in diatomic molecules

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