Attosecond laser control of photoelectron angular distributions in XUV-induced ionization of H2

We investigate how attosecond XUV pump/IR probe schemes can be used to exert control on the ionization dynamics of the hydrogen molecule. The aim is to play with all available experimental parameters in the problem, namely the XUV pump–IR probe delay, the energy and emission direction of the produce...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Bello, Roger Y., Martín García, Fernando, Palacios Cañas, Alicia
Format: article
Publication Date:2020
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repository:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/730180
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10486/730180
https://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0fd00114g
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Angular distribution
electron emission
kinetic energy
molecules
photoelectrons
Química
Description
Summary:We investigate how attosecond XUV pump/IR probe schemes can be used to exert control on the ionization dynamics of the hydrogen molecule. The aim is to play with all available experimental parameters in the problem, namely the XUV pump–IR probe delay, the energy and emission direction of the produced photo-ions, as well as combinations of them, to uncover control strategies that can lead to preferential electron ejection directions. We do so by accurately solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation, with inclusion of both electronic and nuclear motions, as well as the coupling between them. We show that both the IR pulse and the nuclear motion can be used to break the molecular inversion symmetry, thus leading to asymmetric molecular-frame photoelectron angular distributions. The preferential electron emission direction can thus be tuned by varying the pump–probe delay, by choosing specific ranges of proton kinetic energies, or both. We expect that similar control strategies could be used in more complex molecules containing light nuclei