Angular dependence of strong field ionization of water

The availability of short, intense laser pulses has opened up new possibilities for chemistry. Attosecond laser pulses can directly explore electron dynamics, image molecular orbitals and probe bond making and breaking processes. Intense femtosecond laser pulses can act as photonic reagents by altering the dynamics of molecules on potential energy surfaces. The response of molecules to short, intense laser pulses cannot be treated by the perturbative methods used for ordinary spectroscopy. Direct simulations of electronic and nuclear dynamics are needed to understand the behavior of molecules under these extreme conditions. With support from the National Science Foundation, we are simulated angular dependence of strong field ionization of polyatomic molecules. In a collaboration with Prof. Wen Li at WSU supported by the Department of Energy, we are studying the isomerization and fragmentation of molecules in intense mid-IR laser fields by ab initio molecular dynamics.

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