Coulomb explosion of large polyatomic molecules assisted by nonadiabatic charge localization.
The electron-nuclear dynamics of the Coulomb explosion of a large polyatomic molecule, anthracene, is probed using kinetic energy distributions of produced H+ ions. The kinetic energy release of ejected protons exceeds 30 eV for anthracene exposed to 10(14) W cm(-2), 800 nm pulses of 60 fs duration. We propose a strong-field charge localization model, based on nonadiabatic dynamics of charge distribution in a (multiply) ionized molecule; the charge localization lasts many laser periods and is sustained through successive ionizations of the molecular ion. The model explains quantitatively the dependence of the H+ kinetic energy on the laser intensity. Dissociative ionization of a polyatomic molecule enabled by long-lived charge localization is a new type of electron-nuclear dynamics and is essential for understanding the pathways of molecular or ionic fragmentation in strong fields.
Department of Chemistry, Center for Advanced Photonics Research, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA.
Alexei N
AN
Markevitch
Dmitri A
DA
Romanov
Stanley M
SM
Smith
Robert J
RJ
Levis