Frustrated double and single ionization in a two-electron triatomic molecule H$^+_3$

TL;DR

This study models the formation of excited neutral fragments during the laser-driven fragmentation of H3+ molecules, revealing how laser intensity and molecular geometry influence frustrated ionization processes.

Contribution

It introduces a microcanonical distribution for triatomic molecules and analyzes frustrated ionization in H3+ under intense laser fields.

Findings

Frustrated ionization depends on laser field strength.

Molecular geometry influences ionization outcomes.

Kinetic energy release varies with ionization type.

Abstract

Using a semi-classical model, we study the formation of highly excited neutral fragments during the fragmentation of $\mathrm{H_3^+}$, a two-electron triatomic molecule, driven by an intense near-IR laser field. To do so, we first formulate a microcanonical distribution for arbitrary one-electron triatomic molecules. We then study frustrated double and single ionization in strongly-driven $\mathrm{H_3^+}$ and compute the kinetic energy release of the nuclei for these two processes. Moreover, we investigate the dependence of frustrated ionization on the strength of the laser field as well as on the geometry of the initial molecular state.