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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Above threshold Coulomb explosion of molecules in intense laser pulses
B D Esry1, A M Sayler, P Q Wang
1J.R. Macdonald Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA.
Abstract:
We have measured and explained a new mechanism of molecular ionization near the appearance intensity that produces a sequence of peaks in the nuclear kinetic energy spectrum separated by the photon energy. Our interpretation is based on an internally consistent model for the nuclear motion during an intense laser pulse. Within this model, the same concepts and language can be used for both dissociation and ionization, leading to a more unified understanding of the dynamics.
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