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Measurements on the strong-field ionization of carbonyl sulfide molecules by short, intense, 2 µm wavelength laser pulses are presented from experiments where angle-resolved photoelectron distributions were recorded with a high-energy velocity map imaging spectrometer, designed to reach a maximum kinetic energy of 500 eV. The laser-field-free elastic-scattering cross section of carbonyl sulfide was extracted from the measurements and is found in good agreement with previous experiments, performed using conventional electron diffraction. By comparing our measurements to the results of calculations, based on the quantitative rescattering theory, the bond lengths and molecular geometry were extracted from the experimental differential cross sections to a precision better than ±5 pm and in agreement with the known values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) laser pulse consisting of harmonics of a fundamental near-infrared (NIR) laser frequency is combined with the NIR pulse to systematically study two-color photoionization of helium atoms. A time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy experiment is carried out where energy- and angle-resolved photoelectron distributions are obtained as a function of the NIR intensity and wavelength. Time-dependent Schrödinger equation calculations are performed for the conditions corresponding to the experiment and used to extract residual populations of Rydberg states resulting from excitation by the XUV + NIR pulse pair. The residual populations are studied as a function of the NIR intensity (3.5 × 1010 − 8 × 1012 W cm−2) and wavelength (760–820 nm). The evolution of the photoelectron distribution and the residual populations are interpreted using an effective restricted basis model, which includes the minimum set of states relevant to the features observed in the experiments. As a result, a comprehensive and intuitive picture of the laser-induced dynamics in helium atoms exposed to a two-color XUV–NIR light field is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of the angular distributions of electrons ejected in aligned molecules by extreme ultra-violet ionization using a high harmonic generation (HHG) source. Impulsive alignment in O2, N2 and CO molecules was achieved using a near-IR laser pulse and the photoelectron angular distribution after ionization by a fs harmonic comb composed of harmonic H11 to H29 (17.5-46 eV) was recorded at the maximum of both alignment and anti-alignment. The experiment reveals signatures that are specific for the electronic orbitals that are ionized as well as the onset of the influence of the molecular structure and is well reproduced by theoretical calculations based on the multichannel Schwinger configuration interaction method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calculations are presented of vibrational wave packet dynamics in H+2 ions formed by ionization of neutral H2 by a pair of attosecond extreme ultraviolet laser pulses, using time-delayed dissociation of the cation by an ultraviolet probe pulse. The strength of experimentally observable two-level quantum beats as a function of the attosecond two-pulse delay can be related to ion+photoelectron entanglement resulting from the ionization process. This conclusion is supported by an evaluation of the purity of the reduced ion and photoelectron density matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present measurements of photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) for the ionization of aligned CO2 molecules by an extreme ultraviolet laser pulse (17–45 eV) that is produced via high-harmonic generation, and that is polarized perpendicularly to the alignment laser axis. Differential PADs are recorded by taking the difference between two measurements for aligned and anti-aligned molecules. The results are compared with ab initio multi-channel R-matrix calculations, which are extended to include the computation of PADs. The calculations agree very well with the experiment, and are resolved with respect to the internal state of the ion and the polarization of the ionizing laser field relative to the molecular frame. For a sufficiently high, but experimentally achievable degree of alignment, the nodal structure of the molecular orbital becomes visible in the PAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a simple model of strong-field ionization of atoms that generalizes the well-known 3-step model from ID to 3D, we show that the experimental photoelectron angular distributions resulting from laser ionization of xenon and argon display prominent structures that correspond to electrons that pass by their parent ion more than once before strongly scattering. The shape of these structures can be associated with the specific number of times the electron is driven past its parent ion in the laser field before scattering. Furthermore, a careful analysis of the cutoff energy of the structures allows us to experimentally measure the distance between the electron and ion at the moment of tunnel ionization. This work provides new physical insight into how atoms ionize in strong laser fields and has implications for further efforts to extract atomic and molecular dynamics from strong-field physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autoionizing Rydberg states of molecular N2 are studied using time-, energy-, and angular-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy. A femtosecond extreme ultraviolet pulse with a photon energy of 17.5 eV excites the resonance and a subsequent IR pulse ionizes the molecule before the autoionization takes place. The angular-resolved photoelectron spectra depend on pump-probe time delay and allow for the distinguishing of two electronic states contributing to the resonance. The lifetime of one of the contributions is determined to be 14±1 fs, while the lifetime of the other appears to be significantly shorter than the time resolution of the experiment. These observations suggest that the Rydberg states in this energy region are influenced by the effect of interference stabilization and merge into a complex resonance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]