Dissipative control in thermal ensembles using tunneling ionization
George N. Gibson, L. Fang
It has been observed that non-resonant tunneling ionization of diatomic molecules by strong laser fields can lead to readily observable coherent vibrations in the molecular ground state of both hydrogen and iodine. Moreover, we have shown that this process, called “Lochfrass” or “ R -selective ionization,” produces larger amplitude coherent motion in hotter systems than cold. In contrast, reversible interactions, like bond-softening, become less effective as the temperature increases. In this paper, we present a density matrix analysis to demonstrate this unusual temperature dependence and suggest that dissipative interactions, like tunneling ionization, can provide strong-field control in hot systems.
Laser Physics•Jul 15, 2009•0 citations