title: Formation of ground-state vibrational wave packets in intense ultrashort laser pulses.
abstract: The formation of coherent vibrational wave packets in the electronic ground state of neutral molecules in intense ultrashort laser pulses and their subsequent detection by means of recently developed pump-probe experiments are discussed. The wave packet formation is due to the pronounced dependence of the strong-field ionization rate on the internuclear distance. This leads to a deformation of the initial wave function due to an internuclear-distance dependent depletion. The phenomenon is demonstrated with a time-dependent wave packet study for molecular hydrogen.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, 70550 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goll
authors.forename: Günter
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wunner
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saenz