Revealing the Cooper minimum of N2 by molecular frame high-harmonic spectroscopy

High-harmonic spectroscopy of impulsively aligned 1,3-cyclohexadiene: Signatures of attosecond charge migration

High-harmonic spectroscopy is an all-optical technique with inherent attosecond temporal resolution that has been successfully employed to reconstruct charge migration, electron-tunneling dynamics, and conical-intersection dynamics. Here, we demonstrate the extension of two key components of high-harmonic spectroscopy, i.e., impulsive alignment and measurements with multiple driving wavelengths to 1,3-cyclohexadiene and benzene. In the case of 1,3-cyclohexadiene, we find that the temporal sequence of maximal and minimal emitted high-harmonic intensities as a function of the delay between the alignment and probe pulses inverts between 25 and 30 eV and again between 35 and 40 eV when an 800-nm driver is used, but no inversions are observed with a 1420-nm driver. This observation is explained by the wavelength-dependent interference of emission from multiple molecular orbitals (HOMO to HOMO-3), as demonstrated by calculations based on the weak-field asymptotic theory and accurate photorecombination matrix elements. These results indicate that attosecond charge migration takes place in the 1,3-cyclohexadiene cation and can potentially be reconstructed with the help of additional measurements. Our experiments also demonstrate a pathway toward studying photochemical reactions in the molecular frame of 1,3-cyclohexadiene.

Minimum structure of high-order harmonic spectrum from molecular multi-orbital effects involving inner-shell orbitals

The spectral features of high-order harmonic spectra can provide rich information for probing the structure and dynamics of molecules in intense laser fields. We theoretically study the high harmonic spectrum with the laser polarization direction perpendicular to the N2O molecule and find a minimum structure in the plateau region of the harmonic spectrum. Through analyzing the time-dependent survival probability of different electronic orbitals and the time-dependent wave packet evolution, it is found that this minimum position is caused by the harmonic interference of HOMO a, HOMO-1, and HOMO-3 a orbitals. Moreover, this interference minimum is discovered over a wide frequency range of 0.087 a.u. to 0.093 a.u., as well as a range of driving laser intensities with peak amplitudes between 0.056 a.u. and 0.059 a.u.. This study sheds light on the multi-electron effects and ultrafast dynamics of inner-shell electrons in intense laser pulses, which are crucial for understanding and controlling chemical reactions in molecules.

All-optical measurement of high-order fractional molecular echoes by high-order harmonic generation

An all-optical measurement of high-order fractional molecular echoes is demonstrated by using high-order harmonic generation (HHG). Excited by a pair of time-delayed short laser pulses, the signatures of full and high order fractional (1/2 and 1/3) alignment echoes are observed in the HHG signals measured from CO ₂ molecules at various time delays of the probe pulse. By increasing the time delay of the pump pulses, much higher order fractional (1/4) alignment echo is also observed in N ₂O molecules. With an analytic model based on the impulsive approximation, the spatiotemporal dynamics of the echo process are retrieved from the experiment. Compared to the typical molecular alignment revivals, high-order fractional molecular echoes are demonstrated to dephase more rapidly, which will open a new route towards the ultrashort-time measurement. The proposed HHG method paves an efficient way for accessing the high-order fractional echoes in molecules.

High-Harmonic and Terahertz Spectroscopy (HATS): Methods and Applications

Electrons driven from atom or molecule by intense dual-color laser fields can coherently radiate high harmonics from extreme ultraviolet to soft X-ray, as well as an intense terahertz (THz) wave from millimeter to sub-millimeter wavelength. The joint measurement of high-harmonic and terahertz spectroscopy (HATS) was established and further developed as a unique tool for monitoring electron dynamics of argon from picoseconds to attoseconds and for studying the molecular structures of nitrogen. More insights on the rescattering process could be gained by correlating the fast and slow electron motions via observing and manipulating the HATS from atoms and molecules. We also propose the potential investigations of HATS of polar molecules, and solid and liquid sources.

Real-Time Observation of Molecular Spinning with Angular High-Harmonic Spectroscopy

We demonstrate an angular high-harmonic spectroscopy method to probe the spinning dynamics of a molecular rotation wave packet in real time. With the excitation of two time-delayed, polarization-skewed pump pulses, the molecular ensemble is impulsively kicked to rotate unidirectionally, which is subsequently irradiated by another delayed probe pulse for high-order harmonic generation (HHG). The spatiotemporal evolution of the molecular rotation wave packet is visualized from the time-dependent angular distributions of the HHG yields and frequency shift measured at various polarization directions and time delays of the probe pulse. The observed frequency shift in HHG is demonstrated to arise from the nonadiabatic effect induced by molecular spinning. Different from the previous spectroscopic and Coulomb explosion imaging techniques, the angular high-harmonic spectroscopy method can reveal additionally the electronic structure and multiple orbitals of the sampled molecule. All the experimental findings are well reproduced by numerical simulations. Further extension of this method would provide a powerful tool for probing complex polyatomic molecules with HHG spectroscopy.

Precise Access to the Molecular-Frame Complex Recombination Dipole through High-Harmonic Spectroscopy

We report on spectral intensity and group delay measurements of the highest-occupied molecular-orbital (HOMO) recombination dipole moment of N_{2} in the molecular-frame using high harmonic spectroscopy. We take advantage of the long-wavelength 1.3  μm driving laser to isolate the HOMO in the near threshold region, 19-67 eV. The precision of our group delay measurements reveals previously unseen angle-resolved spectral features associated with autoionizing resonances, and allows quantitative comparison with cutting-edge correlated 8-channel photoionization dipole moment calculations.

Joint Measurements of Terahertz Wave Generation and High-Harmonic Generation from Aligned Nitrogen Molecules Reveal Angle-Resolved Molecular Structures

We report the synchronized measurements of terahertz wave generation and high-harmonic generation from aligned nitrogen molecules in dual-color laser fields. Both yields are found to be alignment dependent, showing the importance of molecular structures in the generation processes. By calibrating the angular ionization rates with the terahertz yields, we present a new way of retrieving the angular differential photoionization cross section (PICS) from the harmonic signals which avoids specific model calculations or separate measurements of the alignment-dependent ionization rates. The measured PICS is found to be consistent with theoretical predications, although some discrepancies exist. This all-optical method provides a new alternative for investigating molecular structures.

Two-pulse field-free orientation reveals anisotropy of molecular shape resonance

We report the observation of macroscopic field-free orientation, i.e., more than 73% of CO molecules pointing in the same direction. This is achieved through an all-optical scheme operating at high particle densities (>10(17)  cm(-3)) that combines one-color (ω) and two-color (ω+2ω) nonresonant femtosecond laser pulses. We show that the achieved orientation solely relies on the hyperpolarizability interaction as opposed to an ionization-depletion mechanism, thus, opening a wide range of applications. The achieved strong orientation enables us to reveal the molecular-frame anisotropies of the photorecombination amplitudes and phases caused by a shape resonance. The resonance appears as a local maximum in the even-harmonic emission around 28 eV. In contrast, the odd-harmonic emission is suppressed in this spectral region through the combined effects of an asymmetric photorecombination phase and a subcycle Stark effect, generic for polar molecules, that we experimentally identify.

Angular momentum sensitive two-center interference

In quantum mechanics the Young-type double-slit experiment can be performed with electrons either traveling through a double slit or being coherently emitted from two inversion symmetric molecular sites. In the latter one the valence photoionization cross sections of homonuclear diatomic molecules were predicted to oscillate over kinetic energy almost 50 years ago. Beyond the direct proof of the oscillatory behavior of these photoionization cross sections σ, we show that the angular distribution of the emitted electrons reveals hitherto unexplored information on the relative phase shift between the corresponding partial waves through two-center interference patterns.

Signature of two-electron interference in angular resolved double photoionization of Mg

The double photoionization of Mg has been studied experimentally and theoretically in a kinematic where the two photoelectrons equally share the excess energy. The observation of a symmetrized gerade amplitude, which strongly deviates from the Gaussian ansatz, is explained by a two-electron interference predicted theoretically, but never before observed experimentally. Similar to the Cooper minima in the single photoionization cross section, the effect finds its origin in the radial extent and oscillation of the target wave function.