Intense laser ionization of transiently aligned CO

Abstract

We have measured the ionization rate for CO molecules exposed to intense $30\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{fsec}$ $780\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nm}$ laser pulses as a function of the angle between the molecular and laser polarization axes. Nonionizing, $70\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{fsec}$ laser pulses are used to coherently prepare the molecules, preferentially aligning them for the strong-field ionization experiments. We find a 2:1 ionization-rate ratio for molecules aligned parallel or perpendicular to the ionizing field.