Observation of Quantum Interferences via Light Induced Conical Intersections in Diatomic Molecules

TL;DR

This study demonstrates quantum interferences caused by laser-induced conical intersections in diatomic molecules, revealing energy-dependent diffraction patterns in proton dissociation, supported by numerical simulations.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental observation of light-induced conical intersections affecting molecular dissociation dynamics.

Findings

Energy-dependent diffraction patterns observed in proton dissociation.

Interference magnitude varies with initial energy and LICI parameters.

Numerical simulations confirm experimental results.

Abstract

We observe energy-dependent angle-resolved diffraction patterns in protons from strong-field dissociation of the molecular hydrogen ion H$_2^+$. The interference is a characteristic of dissociation around a laser-induced conical intersection (LICI), which is a point of contact between two surfaces in the dressed 2-dimensional Born-Oppenheimer potential energy landscape of a diatomic molecule in a strong laser field. The interference magnitude and angular period depend strongly on the energy difference between the initial state and the LICI, consistent with coherent diffraction around a cone-shaped potential barrier whose width and thickness depend on the relative energy of the initial state and the cone apex. These findings are supported by numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation for similar experimental conditions.