Three-dimensional time-dependent Hartree-Fock approach for arbitrarily oriented molecular hydrogen in strong electromagnetic fields

Abstract

We present a theoretical framework for the electronic dynamics of arbitrarily oriented molecular hydrogen in strong and short electromagnetic fields. The ground state of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ is obtained by propagating the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation in imaginary time by assuming the Hartree-Fock ansatz for the interaction between the electrons. The interaction of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ with the radiation field is considered in the single-active-electron approximation, with the continuum electron subject to Hartree-Fock radial potentials. We propagate the wave function by a split-operator scheme projected on a spherical harmonics basis. Alignment-dependent yields and angular distributions for one- and two-photon ionization induced by an external femtosecond light source are presented and compared with available theoretical results.