Abstract
Ultrafast dynamics of a molecular wave packet created by a strong 120-fs near-infrared (800 nm) laser pulse in iodine has been probed by synchronized 13.4-nm, 35-fs extreme-ultraviolet pulses delivered by the free-electron laser facility in Hamburg, FLASH. The kinetic energy release of the multiply charged ionic fragments reveals three essential steps of strong-field-induced molecular fragmentation dynamics: (i) The creation of I and (I) molecular ions proceeds within (75 15) fs full-width-at-half-maximum. (ii) With the onset of the I fragmentation the probability to lose a further electron within the same optical laser pulse rises with increasing I—I internuclear separation and reaches its maximum after 30 fs with respect to the pulse maximum. (iii) Charge separation into the I dissociative channel with an asymmetric charge distribution is completed after (121 22) fs.
1 More- Received 12 July 2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.86.043430
©2012 American Physical Society
Synopsis
Watching a Molecular Explosion
Published 25 October 2012
Snapshots of a molecule dissociating into atomic fragments are captured with x-ray laser pulses.
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