Molecules in strong laser fields: vibrational inversion and harmonic generation

We examine two consequences of the unique behaviour of molecules in strong fields. First, by time gating of laser-induced avoided crossings with femtosecond laser pulses, one can obtain efficient vibrational inversion into a narrow distribution of vibrational levels of a molecular ion. We demonstrate this by numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for [Formula: see text] Second, we show results of numerical calculation with vibrationally excited [Formula: see text] of harmonic generation up to the 11th order of an intense 1064- nm laser. We predict that competition of photodissociation can be minimized by trapping the molecule in high-field-induced potential wells, thus enhancing the high-order harmonic generation process. Furthermore, the harmonic spectrum can serve as a measure of the structure of these laser-induced potentials.