ABOVE THRESHOLD IONIZATION OF POLAR NaK MOLECULES DRIVEN BY FEW-CYCLE LASER PULSE

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the above-threshold ionization (ATI) of the polar NaK molecule exposed in few-cycle laser field by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation including the vibrational and rotational degrees of freedom. The left and right ATI spectra are calculated by integrating the ionization continuum wave function over the left and the right half spheres along the laser polarization. We find that the left and right ATI spectra are asymmetric, and this asymmetry depends strongly on the molecular orientation and the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of the laser pulse. Moreover, we also perform the calculation for different initially rotational states to study the effect of rotational temperature on the ATI dynamics.