# Controlling electron-electron correlation in frustrated double ionization of molecules with orthogonally polarized two-color laser fields

## TL;DR

This study shows how orthogonally polarized two-color laser fields can control electron-electron correlation during frustrated double ionization of D₃⁺ molecules, revealing signatures of correlation effects through momentum and probability distributions.

## Contribution

It introduces a semi-classical model to analyze electron-electron correlation control in FDI of D₃⁺ molecules using orthogonal two-color laser fields, highlighting experimental feasibility.

## Key findings

- Electron-electron correlation signatures depend on laser pulse delay.
- D₃⁺ is a better candidate than H₂ for observing correlation effects.
- Momentum distributions reveal correlation presence or absence.

## Abstract

We demonstrate the control of electron-electron correlation in frustrated double ionization (FDI) of the two-electron triatomic molecule D$_{3}^{+}$ when driven by two orthogonally polarized two-color laser fields. We employ a three-dimensional semi-classical model that fully accounts for the electron and nuclear motion in strong fields. We analyze the FDI probability and the distribution of the momentum of the escaping electron along the polarization direction of the longer wavelength and more intense laser field. These observables when considered in conjunction bear clear signatures of the prevalence or absence of electron-electron correlation in FDI, depending on the time-delay between the two laser pulses. We find that D$_{3}^{+}$ is a better candidate compared to H$_{2}$ for demonstrating also experimentally that electron-electron correlation indeed underlies FDI.