English

Strong-Field Polarizability-Enhanced Dissociative Ionization

Atomic Physics 2018-10-24 v1

Abstract

We investigate dissociative single and double ionization of HeH+ induced by intense femtosecond laser pulses. By employing a semi-classical model with nuclear trajectories moving on field-dressed surfaces and ionization events treated as stochastical jumps, we identify a strong-field mechanism wherein the molecules dynamically align along the laser polarization axis and stretch towards a critical internuclear distance before getting dissociative ionized. As the tunnel-ionization rate is greater for larger internuclear distance and for aligned samples, ionization is enhanced. The strong dynamical rotation is traced back to a maximum in the parallel component of the internuclear-distance-dependent polarizability tensor. Qualitative agreement with our experimental observations is found. Finally the criteria for observing the isotope effect for the ion angular distribution is discussed.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1807.00779,
  title  = {Strong-Field Polarizability-Enhanced Dissociative Ionization},
  author = {Lun Yue and Philipp Wustelt and A. Max Sayler and Gerhard G. Paulus and Stefanie Gräfe},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1807.00779},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

7 pages

R2 v1 2026-06-23T02:48:26.730Z