Inter- and intracycle interference effects in strong-field dissociative ionization

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates how strong laser pulses cause dissociative ionization in H₂⁺, revealing complex interference patterns in energy spectra that encode ultrafast molecular dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of inter- and intracycle interference effects in strong-field dissociative ionization, linking spectral features to wave packet interferences across optical cycles.

Findings

Rich energy-sharing structures observed in spectra

Interference patterns explained by wave packet interferences

Structures encode sub-femtosecond dynamical information

Abstract

We theoretically study dissociative ionization of H$_2^+$ exposed to strong linearly polarized few-cycle visible, near-infrared and midinfrared laser pulses. We find rich energy-sharing structures in the combined electron and nuclear kinetic energy spectra with features that are a priori at odds with simple energy conservation arguments. We explain the structures as interferences between wave packets released during different optical cycles, and during the same optical cycle, respectively. Both inter- and intracycle interference structures are clearly visible in the joint energy spectra. The shapes of the interference structures depend on the dynamics leading to the double continuum, and carry sub-femtosecond information.