Dynamic Imaging of Molecular Motion with Ultrashort Intense Laser Pulses

Abstract

The nonlinear nonperturbative response of atoms in intense laser fields have been extensively studied both experimentally and theoretically in the past twenty years leading to new unexpected effects such as Above Threshold Ionization, ATI, high order frequency generation, HOHG, etc. and these are documented in recent book1. The similar studies of molecules is a new chapter in the pursuit of laser control and manipulation of molecules 2. The nonlinear nonperturbative response of molecules to intense (I>1015 W/cm2) and ultrashort (t<10 fs) laser pulses is expected to yield new effects due to the extra degrees of freedom nuclear motion, as compared to atoms3. One of our major contributions to this new area of research has been the prediction of new laser induced bound states 3 via the creation of Laser Induced Molecular Potentials, LIMP’s 4, Charge Resonance Enhanced Ionization, CREI 5 and molecular High Order Harmonic Generation, MHOHG 6. These effects are all nonlinear nonperturbative in nature and were predicted by high-level numerical simulations of appropriate time-dependent Schroedinger equations, TDSE’s of molecules in laser fields.