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Counterintuitive alignment of H2(+) in intense femtosecond laser fields
L J Frasinski1, J Plumridge, J H Posthumus
1J. J. Thomson Physical Laboratory, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AF, United Kingdom. L.J.Frasinski@reading.ac.uk
Abstract:
The multiphoton ionization of H2 has been studied using laser pulses of 266 nm wavelength, 250 fs duration, and 5x10(13) W/cm(2) peak intensity. Dissociation of H2(+) via one-photon absorption proceeds through two channels with markedly different proton angular distributions. The lower-energy channel (2.6 eV kinetic energy release) is produced in the bond softening mechanism, which generates parallel alignment. The higher-energy channel (3.5 eV) originates from population trapping in a light-induced bound state, where bond hardening generates orthogonal, counterintuitive alignment.