Ionization of oriented targets by intense circularly polarized laser pulses: Imprints of orbital angular nodes in the 2D momentum distribution

Abstract

We solve the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a few-cycle circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulse interacting with an oriented target exemplified by an Argon atom, initially in a $3{\text{p}}_x$ or $3{\text{p}}_y$ state. The photoelectron momentum distributions show distinct signatures of the orbital structure of the initial state as well as the carrier-envelope phase of the applied pulse. Our \textit{ab initio} results are compared with results obtained using the length-gauge strong-field approximation, which allows for a clear interpretation of the results in terms of classical physics. Furthermore, we show that ionization by a circularly polarized pulse completely maps out the angular nodal structure of the initial state, thus providing a potential tool for studying orbital symmetry in individual systems or during chemical reactions.

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Cited by in corpus (5)

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• Ionization of 1D and 3D oriented asymmetric top molecules by intense circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses
• Time-resolving electron-core dynamics during strong field ionization in circularly polarized fields
• $R$-matrix with Time-dependence Theory for Ultrafast Atomic Processes in Arbitrary Light Fields
• Multielectron effects in strong-field ionization of benzene derivatives