Longitudinal photoelectron momentum shifts induced by absorbing a single XUV photon in diatomic molecules

TL;DR

This paper investigates how absorbing a single XUV photon causes longitudinal photoelectron momentum shifts in diatomic molecules, revealing interference patterns and dependencies on molecular parameters, with predictions testable by current laser technology.

Contribution

It provides an analytical and computational study of photon momentum sharing and interference effects in diatomic molecules upon XUV photon absorption.

Findings

Momentum shifts oscillate with photon energy.

Interference patterns depend on internuclear distance and orientation.

Predictions are testable with current laser technology.

Abstract

The photoelectron momentum shifts along the laser propagation are investigated by the time-dependent perturbation theory for diatomic molecules, such as H$_2^+$, N$_2$ and O$_2$. Such longitudinal momentum shifts characterize the photon momentum sharing in atoms and molecules, and oscillate with respect to photon energies, presenting the double-slit interference structure. The atomic and molecular contributions are disentangled analytically, which gives intuitive picture how the double-slit interference structure is formed. Calculation results show the longitudinal photoelectron momentum distribution depends on the internuclear distance, molecular orientation and photon energy. The current laser technology is ready to approve these theoretical predictions.