High-frequency, correlated nuclear and electron oscillations in molecules in intense laser fields

Abstract

We have solved numerically the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) describing dissociative-ionization of a H2 (and of a D2) molecule exposed to intense short-pulse laser light in one dimension. From the time dependent wave function we calculated the total average acceleration of the two electrons and the relative proton acceleration and the average of internuclear distance. We find that the general shape of the power spectra of electron and proton motion is very similar except that for the electrons the peaks occur at odd harmonics whereas for protons the peaks occur at even harmonics. We relate this to the appearance of higher order polarizabilities. The wavelet time–frequency analysis shows that, surprisingly, time profiles of electron and proton accelerations are nearly identical for high order harmonics. The wavelet time profiles confirm predictions of the three-step quasi-classical model of harmonic generation by identifying several (up to three) electron return times with high precision.