Resonant two-photon single ionization of two atoms

TL;DR

This paper investigates resonant two-photon ionization in a two-atom system, revealing that interatomic Coulombic decay can dominate ionization, significantly affecting its dependence on field intensity and electron spectra.

Contribution

It introduces the role of interatomic Coulombic decay in two-photon ionization, highlighting its dominance and impact on ionization dynamics in two-atom systems.

Findings

Interatomic Coulombic decay can dominate ionization.

Ionization dependence on field intensity is qualitatively altered.

Electron spectra are significantly affected by two-center correlations.

Abstract

Resonant two-photon ionization in a system consisting of two spatially well-separated atoms is studied. Due to two-center electron-electron correlations, the ionization may also proceed through photo-excitation of both atoms with subsequent interatomic Coulombic decay. We show that this channel may dominate the photoionization process and qualitatively change its dependence on the field intensity and the spectra of emitted electrons.