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Exact Single-Electron Approach to the Dynamics of Molecules in Strong Laser Fields

Axel Schild and E. K. U. Gross
Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 163202 – Published 17 April 2017
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Abstract

We present an exact single-electron picture that describes the correlated electron dynamics in strong laser fields. Our approach is based on the factorization of the electronic wave function as a product of a marginal and a conditional amplitude. The marginal amplitude, which depends only on one electronic coordinate and yields the exact one-electron density and current density, obeys a time-dependent Schrödinger equation with an effective time-dependent potential. The exact equations are used to derive an approximation that is a step towards general and feasible ab initio single-electron calculations for molecules. The derivation also sheds new light on the usual interpretation of the single-active electron approximation. From the study of model systems, we find that the exact and approximate single-electron potentials for processes with negligible two-electron ionization lead to qualitatively similar dynamics, but that the ionization barrier in the exact single-electron potential may be explicitly time dependent.

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  • Received 10 January 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.163202

© 2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & FieldsAtomic, Molecular & Optical

Authors & Affiliations

Axel Schild and E. K. U. Gross

  • Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Weinberg 2, D-06120 Halle, Germany

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Issue

Vol. 118, Iss. 16 — 21 April 2017

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