Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · 1203.3922

Laser induced electron diffraction: a tool for molecular orbital imaging

Michel Peters·Tung Nguyen-Dang·Eric Charron·Arne Keller·Osman Atabek
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

We explore the laser-induced ionization dynamics of N2 and CO2 molecules subjected to a few-cycle, linearly polarized, 800\,nm laser pulse using effective two-dimensional single active electron time-dependent quantum simulations. We show that the electron recollision process taking place after an initial tunnel ionization stage results in quantum interference patterns in the energy resolved photo-electron signals. If the molecule is initially aligned perpendicular to the field polarization, the position and relative heights of the associated fringes can be related to the molecular geometrical and orbital structure, using a simple inversion algorithm which takes into account the symmetry of the initial molecular orbital from which the ionized electron is produced. We show that it is possible to extract inter-atomic distances in the molecule from an averaged photon-electron signal with an accuracy of a few percents.

Explore related subjects

physics.atom-phquant-ph

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Michel Peters, Tung Nguyen-Dang, Eric Charron, Arne Keller, Osman Atabek. 2012-03-18. Laser induced electron diffraction: a tool for molecular orbital imaging. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.85.053417

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

High-optical-depth, sub-Doppler-width absorption lines at telecom wavelengths in hot, optically driven rubidium vapor

Doppler broadening presents a major limitation for high-resolution spectroscopy and nonlinear optics in room-temperature atomic vapors. Here, we demonstrate the suppression of Doppler broadening accompanied by pronounced absorption on the upper transition of a three-level ladder system, achieved by dressing the intermediate state with a strong control field. As a concrete realization, we study a hot vapor of $^{87}$Rb where the lower transition is driven by a strong control field resonant with the D2 line at a wavelength of 780 nm, while a weak counter-propagating probe field at the telecom C-band wavelength of 1529 nm ($5P_{(3/2)}\leftrightarrow 4D_{(5/2)}$) interrogates the dressed states. We observe absorption features with a resonant optical depth of approximately 4 and a full width at half maximum of about 17 MHz. Remarkably, this corresponds to an order-of-magnitude reduction relative to the Doppler width, while the optical depth on the upper transition of the ladder scheme exceeds that of the Doppler-broadened lower transition. The measured spectra are in good agreement with theoretical modeling. Combining high optical density with sub-Doppler-width absorption lines typically requires laser-cooled atoms, while our approach profits from the experimental simplicity of a hot-vapor platform.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2026

A CSFG-based neural network basis-selection method for large-scale RCI calculations within GRASPG

We present a neural network (NN) basis-selection method for large-scale relativistic configuration interaction (RCI) calculations in GRASPG. The method employs configuration state function generators (CSFGs), each of which generates a set of configuration state functions (CSFs) with the same spin-angular couplings, as the basic selection units for the NN. A constant-orbital feature-elimination strategy removes feature channels whose values remain unchanged across the CSFG pool. The CSFG representation reduces the number of learning units processed by the NN by more than one order of magnitude, while constant-orbital feature elimination further reduces the dimensionality of the NN input. Combined with the high-performance GRASPG framework, the method improves the efficiency of both NN selection and subsequent RCI calculations, maintaining a balance between accuracy and computational cost. In a moderate Ni(12+) benchmark, where the corresponding full-space RCI calculation is still feasible, the CSFs generated by the retained CSFG sets reproduce the full-space RCI results at the few inverse-centimeter level for the target states. For the representative J = 0, even-parity block, the complete workflow reduces the wall time by 75.6 percent, and the peak memory required by a single RCI calculation is reduced by a factor of 10.1. In a larger-scale calculation with a full CSF expansion containing 1.27 x 10^9 CSFs, the method retains only 1.1-1.9 percent of the full-space CSFs and yields energy levels in good agreement with experimental data and other resource-intensive theoretical calculations.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2026

Low-energy positron scattering from metastable helium

Low-energy positron scattering from singlet and triplet metastable He($1s2s$) is investigated using the $R$-matrix propagation method in hyperspherical coordinates. Elastic and positronium-formation cross sections are reported, and near-threshold resonance structures are analyzed in terms of eigenphase sums and the time-delay matrix. For the triplet target, the calculated cross sections are in agreement with available convergent-close-coupling results and display the expected threshold behavior. Beyond the known $S$-wave features, Feshbach resonance series in higher partial waves extending up to highly excited atomic thresholds are systematically identified. The time-delay matrix further uncovers hidden resonances that produce obvious structures in the positronium-formation cross sections.

physics.atom-ph↗