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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Interference oscillations in the angular distribution of laser-ionized electrons near ionization threshold
D G Arbó1, S Yoshida, E Persson
1Institute for Theoretical Physics, Vienna University of Technology, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8-10/136, A-1040 Vienna, Austria, EU. diego@iafe.uba.ar
Abstract:
We analyze the two-dimensional momentum distribution of electrons ionized by few-cycle laser pulses in the transition regime from multiphoton absorption to tunneling by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation and by a classical-trajectory Monte-Carlo simulation with tunneling (CTMC-T). We find a complex two-dimensional interference pattern that resembles above threshold ionization (ATI) rings at higher energies and displays Ramsauer-Townsend-type diffraction oscillations in the angular distribution near threshold. CTMC-T calculations provide a semiclassical explanation for the dominance of selected partial waves. While the present calculation pertains to hydrogen, we find surprising qualitative agreement with recent experimental data for rare gases [A. Rudenko, J. Phys. B 37, L407 (2004)].
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