Abstract
We report experiments on laser-assisted electron recollisions that result from strong-field ionization of photoexcited I_{2} molecules in the regime of low-energy electron scattering (<25 eV impact energy). By comparing differential scattering cross sections extracted from the angle-resolved photoelectron spectra to differential scattering cross sections from quantum-scattering calculations, we demonstrate that the electron-scattering dynamics is dominated by a shape resonance. When the molecular bond stretches during the evolution of a vibrational wave packet this shape resonance shifts to lower energies, both in experiment and theory. We explain this behavior by the nature of the resonance wave function, which closely resembles an antibonding molecular orbital of I_{2}.
Highlights
In strong-field ionization of atoms and molecules by linearly polarized laser light, the oscillating laser electric field can cause a photoelectron to recollide with its parent ion
At scattering energies that are too low for the assumptions of the independent-atom model (IAM) to hold, the electron scattering dynamics are sensitive to the valence electron distribution
This valence electron distribution can transiently capture an incoming scattering electron through the delicate interplay between attractive (Coulombic) and repulsive forces that act on the electron, a phenomenon known as a shape resonance [11]
Summary
In strong-field ionization of atoms and molecules by linearly polarized laser light, the oscillating laser electric field can cause a photoelectron to recollide with its parent ion. Shape resonances have been shown to play a key role in shaping the photoelectron momentum distributions resulting from laser-assisted electron recollisions in O2 and CO2 [17].
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