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arXiv · 0707.3157

Accurate retrieval of structural information from laser-induced photoelectron and high-harmonic spectra by few-cycle laser pulses

Toru Morishita·Anh-Thu Le·Zhangjin Chen·C. D. Lin
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Abstract

By analyzing ``exact'' theoretical results from solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation of atoms in few-cycle laser pulses, we established the general conclusion that differential elastic scattering and photo-recombination cross sections of the target ion with {\em free} electrons can be extracted accurately from laser-generated high-energy electron momentum spectra and high-order harmonic spectra, respectively. Since both electron scattering and photoionization (the inverse of photo-recombination) are the conventional means for interrogating the structure of atoms and molecules, this result shows that existing few-cycle infrared lasers can be implemented for ultrafast imaging of transient molecules with temporal resolution of a few femtoseconds.

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Toru Morishita, Anh-Thu Le, Zhangjin Chen, C. D. Lin. 2007-07-20. Accurate retrieval of structural information from laser-induced photoelectron and high-harmonic spectra by few-cycle laser pulses. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.100.013903

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