Exploration of Coulomb explosion dynamics through excited vibrational states of molecules

Abstract

The fragmentation dynamics of H2+ molecular ions in intense laser fields is investigated by means of a high-precision ab initio method beyond the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Special attention is paid to the detailed Coulomb explosion (CE) mechanisms and dynamics through excited vibrational states of H2+. A kinetic-energy release (KER) spectrum and CE phenomenon is predicted, in which the kinetic-energy distribution of H+ ions exhibits a series of peaks separated by one photon energy. A proposed scheme for observation of the KER spectrum and CE dynamics is presented.