Abstract
Rabi flopping is a paradigm of two-level quantum systems in the presence of an oscillatory driving field. Different from atoms, the Rabi flopping in a molecule depends on its bond length and orientation with respect to the light polarization direction. Here we explore the Rabi flopping in the strong-field dissociation of in which the two lowest electronic states are photon coupled. aligned along different angles experiences different laser intensities, building the Rabi flopping with angle-dependent frequencies. During the laser- interaction, the electron completes different fractions of Rabi flopping for aligned in different directions, leading to the angular nodes and maxima in the dissociative proton momentum distribution. Our study reveals that one-photon dissociation undergoes the alternation of absorbing and emitting one photon, instead of the one-off photon absorption. This study also provides a universal explanation for the angular distribution of the dissociative fragments in strong laser fields.
- Received 10 April 2020
- Revised 24 February 2021
- Accepted 15 April 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.103.043122
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