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Influence of asymmetry and nodal structures on high-harmonic generation in heteronuclear molecules

Augstein, BB; Faria, CFD; (2011) Influence of asymmetry and nodal structures on high-harmonic generation in heteronuclear molecules. J PHYS B-AT MOL OPT , 44 (5) , Article 055601. 10.1088/0953-4075/44/5/055601. Green open access

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Abstract

The relation between high-harmonic spectra and the geometry of the molecular orbital in position and momentum space is investigated. In particular we choose two isoelectronic pairs of homonuclear and heteronuclear molecules, such that the highest occupied molecular orbital of the former exhibits at least one nodal plane. The imprint of such planes is a strong suppression in the harmonic spectra, for particular alignment angles. We are able to identify two distinct types of nodal structures. If, for homonuclear molecules, the nodal planes are determined by the atomic wavefunctions only, the angle for which the yield is suppressed will remain the same for both types of molecules. In contrast, if they are determined by the linear combination of atomic orbitals at different centers of the molecule, there will be a shift in the angle at which the suppression occurs and a distortion in the nodal structure for the heteronuclear molecule, with respect to its homonuclear counterpart. This shows that, in principle, molecular imaging, in which a homonuclear molecule is used as a reference while observing the wavefunction distortions in its heteronuclear counterpart, is possible.

Type: Article
Title: Influence of asymmetry and nodal structures on high-harmonic generation in heteronuclear molecules
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1088/0953-4075/44/5/055601
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0953-4075/44/5/055601
Language: English
Additional information: Preprint provided by arXiv entitled 'Influence of asymmetry and nodal planes on high-harmonic generation in heteronuclear molecules'.
Keywords: STRONG-FIELD IONIZATION
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1335817
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