Alignment-Dependent Ionization of Molecular Hydrogen in Intense Laser Fields

The alignment dependence of the ionization behavior of H$_2$ exposed to intense ultrashort laser pulses is investigated on the basis of solutions of the full time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation within the fixed-nuclei and dipole approximation. The total ionization yields as well as the energy-resolved electron spectra have been calculated for a parallel and a perpendicular orientation of the molecular axis with respect to the polarization axis of linear polarized laser pulses. For most, but not all considered laser peak intensities the parallel aligned molecules are easier to ionize. Furthermore, it is shown that the velocity formulation of the strong-field approximation predicts a simple interference pattern for the ratio of the energy-resolved electron spectra obtained for the two orientations, but this is not confirmed by the full ab initio results.Comment: 4 figure

Generalized gauge-invariant formulations of the strong-field approximation

The gauge problem in the so-called strong-field approximation (SFA) describing atomic or molecular systems exposed to intense laser fields is investigated. Introducing a generalized gauge and partitioning of the Hamiltonian it is demonstrated that the S-matrix expansion obtained in the SFA depends on both gauge and partitioning in such a way that two gauges always yield the same S-matrix expansion, if the partitioning is properly chosen.Comment: 11 page

Ionization of molecular hydrogen and deuterium by a frequency-doubled Ti:sapphire laser pulses

A theoretical study of the intense-field single ionization of molecular hydrogen or deuterium oriented either parallel or perpendicular to a linear polarized laser pulse (400 nm) is performed for different internuclear separations and pulse lengths in an intensity range of $(2-13)\times10^{13}$W cm$^{-2}$. The investigation is based on a non-perturbative treatment that solves the full time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation of both correlated electrons within the fixed-nuclei and the dipole approximation. The results for various internuclear separations are used to obtain the ionization yields of molecular hydrogen and deuterium in their ground vibrational states. An atomic model is used to identify the influence of the intrinsic diatomic two-center character of the problem.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Exact Keldysh theory of strong-field ionization: residue method vs saddle-point approximation

In recent articles [Mishima et al., Phys. Rev. A, 66, 033401(2002); Chao, Phys. Rev. A, 72, 053414 (2005)] it was proposed to use the residue theorem for the exact calculation of the transition amplitude describing strong-field ionization of atomic systems within Keldysh theory. This should avoid the necessity to apply the method of steepest descent (saddle-point approximation). Comparing the results of both approaches for atomic hydrogen a difference by a factor of 2 was found for the 1s, and an even more drastic deviation for the 2s state. Thus it was concluded that the use of the saddle-point approximation is problematic. In this work the deviations are explained and it is shown that the previous conclusion is based on an unjustified neglect of an important contribution occurring in the application of the residue theorem. Furthermore, the applicability of the method of steepest descent for the ionization of Rydberg states is discussed and an improvement of the standard result is suggested that successfully removes the otherwise drastic failure for large principal quantum numbers.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Alignment-Dependent Ionization of N2_2, O2_2, and CO2_2 in Intense Laser Fields

The ionization probability of N$_2$, O$_2$, and CO$_2$ in intense laser fields is studied theoretically as a function of the alignment angle by solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation numerically assuming only the single-active-electron approximation. The results are compared to recent experimental data [D.~Pavi{\v{c}}i{\'c} et al., Phys.\,Rev.\,Lett.\ {\bf 98}, 243001 (2007)] and good agreement is found for N$_2$ and O$_2$. For CO$_2$ a possible explanation is provided for the failure of simplified single-active-electron models to reproduce the experimentally observed narrow ionization distribution. It is based on a field-induced coherent core-trapping effect.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Feshbach resonances of harmonically trapped atoms

Employing a short-range two-channel description we derive an analytic model of atoms in isotropic and anisotropic harmonic traps at a Feshbach resonance. On this basis we obtain a new parameterization of the energy-dependent scattering length which differs from the one previously employed. We validate the model by comparison to full numerical calculations for Li-Rb and explain quantitatively the experimental observation of a resonance shift and trap-induced molecules in exited bands. Finally, we analyze the bound state admixture and Landau-Zener transition probabilities.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; revised version with extension to anisotropic traps and new paragraph on trap-induced molecules in excited band

A simple parameter-free one-center model potential for an effective one-electron description of molecular hydrogen

For the description of an H2 molecule an effective one-electron model potential is proposed which is fully determined by the exact ionization potential of the H2 molecule. In order to test the model potential and examine its properties it is employed to determine excitation energies, transition moments, and oscillator strengths in a range of the internuclear distances, 0.8 < R < 2.5 a.u. In addition, it is used as a description of an H2 target in calculations of the cross sections for photoionization and for partial excitation in collisions with singly-charged ions. The comparison of the results obtained with the model potential with literature data for H2 molecules yields a good agreement and encourages therefore an extended usage of the potential in various other applications or in order to consider the importance of two-electron and anisotropy effects.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Break-down of the single-active-electron approximation for one-photon ionization of the B 1Σu+^1\Sigma_u^+ state of H2_2 exposed to intense laser fields

Ionization, excitation, and de-excitation to the ground state is studied theoretically for the first excited singlet state B $^1\Sigma_u^+$ of H$_2$ exposed to intense laser fields with photon energies in between about 3 eV and 13 eV. A parallel orientation of a linear polarized laser and the molecular axis is considered. Within the dipole and the fixed-nuclei approximations the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation describing the electronic motion is solved in full dimensionality and compared to simpler models. A dramatic break-down of the single-active-electron approximation is found and explained to be due to the inadequate description of the final continuum states.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure