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Strong light fields coax intramolecular reactions on femtosecond time scales

M. Krishnamurthy·F. A. Rajgara·D. Mathur
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Abstract

Energetic H$_2^+$ ions are formed as a result of intra-molecular rearrangement during fragmentation of linear alcohols (methanol, ethanol, propanol, hexanol, and dodecanol) induced by intense optical fields produced by 100 fs long, infrared, laser pulses of peak intensity 8$\times10^{15}$ W cm$^{-2}$. Polarization dependent measurements show, counterintuitively, that rearrangement is induced by the strong optical field within a single laser pulse, and that it occurs before Coulomb explosion of the field-ionized multiply charged alcohols.

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M. Krishnamurthy, F. A. Rajgara, D. Mathur. 2004-08-02. Strong light fields coax intramolecular reactions on femtosecond time scales. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1819895

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