Anomalous dependence of ionization probability and electron angular distributions on orientation of molecular axis in photoionization of H+
2: effect of two-center interference
Abstract A theoretical and computational study of photoionization of the one-electron molecular ion H+ 2 initially in the 1σu state is performed. The laser pulse is linearly polarized with the carrier wavelength in the extreme ultraviolet region. The electron wave function is obtained by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation with the help of the generalized pseudospectral method. The dependence of the total ionization probability and photoelectron spectra on the orientation of the molecular axis is analyzed. At the wavelength of 12.5 nm, anomalous behavior of the ionization probability is found, where the ionization probability increases with an increase of the angle between the polarization vector of the external field and the molecular axis and reaches a maximum at the perpendicular orientation of the molecule. The phenomenon is explained as resulting from the two-center interference in the wave function of the emitted electron. When the wavelength or internuclear distance change, the effect disappears, and the ionization probability exhibits its usual behavior with the maximum at the parallel orientation of the molecular axis.