Control of electron localization in highly excited states with two ultraviolet laser pulses

Abstract

We propose and demonstrate a scheme for controlling the electron localization in the dissociating H2+ in highly excited states. The control is achieved through two steps: the excitation and the coupling of the electronic wavepackets. Firstly, the excitation is triggered by an ultraviolet laser pulse with a critical wavelength, in which the wavepackets can be launched to the highly excited state () efficiently from the ground state (). Then, we utilize a second time-delayed ultraviolet laser pulse to manipulate the population of the degenerate state () around the one-photon coupling region. Our results show that, by adjusting the time delay between the two pulses and the carrier–envelope phase of the second pulse, the control of electron localization of H2+ in highly excited states can be achieved.