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arXiv · 1511.05626

Observation of Quantum Interferences via Light Induced Conical Intersections in Diatomic Molecules

Adi Natan·Matthew R Ware·Vaibhav S. Prabhudesai·Uri Lev·Barry D. Bruner·Oded Heber·Philip H Bucksbaum
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Abstract

We observe energy-dependent angle-resolved diffraction patterns in protons from strong-field dissociation of the molecular hydrogen ion H$_2^+$. The interference is a characteristic of dissociation around a laser-induced conical intersection (LICI), which is a point of contact between two surfaces in the dressed 2-dimensional Born-Oppenheimer potential energy landscape of a diatomic molecule in a strong laser field. The interference magnitude and angular period depend strongly on the energy difference between the initial state and the LICI, consistent with coherent diffraction around a cone-shaped potential barrier whose width and thickness depend on the relative energy of the initial state and the cone apex. These findings are supported by numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for similar experimental conditions.

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Adi Natan, Matthew R Ware, Vaibhav S. Prabhudesai, Uri Lev, Barry D. Bruner, Oded Heber, Philip H Bucksbaum. 2016-01-26. Observation of Quantum Interferences via Light Induced Conical Intersections in Diatomic Molecules. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.116.143004

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