Dissociative double photoionisation of CO below the CO++ threshold

Revealing Molecular Strong Field Autoionization Dynamics

The novel strong field autoionization (SFAI) dynamics is identified and investigated by channel-resolved angular streaking measurements of two electrons and two ions for the double-ionized CO. Comparing with the laser-assisted autoionization calculations, we demonstrate the electrons from SFAI are generated from the field-induced decay of the autoionizing state with a following acceleration in the laser fields. The energy-dependent photoelectron angular distributions further reveal that the subcycle ac-Stark effect modulates the lifetime of the autoionizing state and controls the emission of SFAI electrons in molecular frame. Our results pave the way to control the emission of resonant high-harmonic generation and trace the electron-electron correlation and electron-nuclear coupling by strong laser fields. The lifetime modulation of quantum systems in the strong laser field has great potential for quantum manipulation of chemical reactions and beyond.

Mechanisms of spontaneous two-electron emission from core-excited states of molecular CO

We demonstrate that the observation of slow electrons emitted in the decay of molecular core-excited states can be a sensitive probe of the double Auger processes, and that in combination with electron-electron coincidence spectroscopy, it can provide clear insight into the mechanisms involved. The present study identifies all cascade Auger paths from the C1s-to-Rydberg states in CO to final states of CO2+. One pathway includes the first directly identified case of molecular level-to-level autoionization of a cation and shows remarkable selectivity for a specific final state.

Valence double ionization of O2 at photon energies below and above the molecular double ionization threshold

A recently developed time-of-flight photoelectron-photoelectron coincidence spectroscopy technique, which gives complete two-dimensional e(-)-e(-) spectra in single photon double ionization, is applied to molecular oxygen at photon energies below and above the adiabatic double ionization threshold of O(2). Analysis of the two-dimensional coincidence maps reveals specific indirect pathways for the double ionization process. Dissociative ionization paths with subsequent autoionization of atomic oxygen are found to be the dominant processes for all chosen photon energies. Spectra of the photoelectrons coincident with the autoionization electrons show that intermediate O(2)(+) states are involved which do not autoionize to molecular O(2)(2+). In particular, the ground state of O(2)(2+) is vibrationally resolved and shows a regular progression which can be well described by direct Franck-Condon transitions at an internuclear distance R(e)(X (1)Sigma(g)(+))=1.054 A. Quantum yields of double ionization for O(2), of a form discussed in this paper, are determined.