title: Alignment-dependent strong field ionization of molecules.
abstract: We demonstrate a method to measure strong field laser ionization of aligned molecules. The method employs a macroscopic field-free dynamic alignment, which occurs during revivals of rotational wave packets produced by a femtosecond laser pulse. We investigate the dependence of strong field ionization of N2 on molecular orientation. We determine that N2 molecules are four times more likely to ionize when aligned parallel to the field than when aligned perpendicular to it.
authors.affiliation: Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Canada.
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Litvinyuk
authors.forename: Kevin F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Dooley
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Rayner
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Villeneuve
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Corkum