Francesca Morales

The emission time of harmonics emitted by a molecule

The behaviour of a one-electron, one-dimensional, asymmetric molecule driven by a laser field of intermediate intensity is studied. At the laser intensity used, the electron bounces back and forth from one atom to another undergoing repeated collisions with the nuclei. The scattered electromagnetic spectrum shows even and odd harmonics of the pump frequency. By means of a wavelet transform it is seen that the harmonics are emitted at different instants of time, corresponding to different locations of the electron. It is suggested that the emission time can be used as a tool to determine the position of the electron.

Nuclear molecular dynamics investigated by using high-order harmonic generation spectra

In this paper we show how it is possible to investigate the nuclear dynamics of simple molecular ions and molecules by looking at the high-order harmonic generation spectra they emit in the presence of a laser field. In particular we investigate two different effects: the presence of sidebands in the emitted spectra around the usual odd harmonics and an isotopic effect which affects the height of the plateau lines. We further study the advantages and the limitations of the semiclassical approach.

Joint probability distributions for wind speed and direction. A case study in Sicily

In this study we analyze data of hourly average wind speed and direction measured at three different sampling stations located in Sicily (Italy) and provide a statistical model for their joint probability density function. Singly truncated from below Normal Weibull mixture distribution and a linear combination of von Mises distributions are used to model wind speed and direction. Sites with heterogeneous local conditions (prevailing wind direction and/or elevation) have been considered in order to investigate the reliability of the model here taken into consideration.

Polarization of high harmonic generated spectra in ion

Abstract We study the polarization of the harmonics generated by a homonuclear diatomic molecule in the presence of an intense, linearly polarized laser field. The polarization parameters of the emitted radiation are investigated as a function of the angle between the laser electric field and the molecular axis. The calculations are carried out by assuming a single active electron model with fixed nuclei; a two-dimensional model of the system is used. We find a different dependence of the parameters of the harmonics vs in the first or second half of the emitted spectrum. In particular, the differences are accentuated for , while for higher angles, until the perpendicular orientation, almost all the harmonics present similar characteristics.

Control of the high harmonic generation spectra by changing the molecule-laser field relative orientation

The time dependent Schrodinger equation of a homonuclear diatomic molecule in the presence of a linearly polarized laser field is numerically solved by means of a split-operator parallel code. The calculations are carried out by assuming a single active electron model with fixed nuclei; a simplified two-dimensional model of the system is used. The highly nonlinear response of the electron wave function to the laser electric field stimulates the molecule to emit electromagnetic radiation consisting of a wide plateau of odd harmonics of the laser field. It is shown that the emitted spectrum can be finely controlled by changing the angle between the laser electric field and the molecular axis; this can be used to achieve a tunable source of high frequency radiation.

Control of Electron Motion in a Molecular Ion: Dynamical Creation of a Permanent Electric Dipole

The dynamics of a diatomic one-dimensional homonuclear molecule driven by a two-laser field is investigated beyond the usual fixed nuclei approximation. The dynamics of the nuclei is treated by means of Newton equations of motion; the full quantum description is used for the single active electron. The first laser pulse (pump) excites vibrations of the nuclei, while the second very short pulse (probe) has the role of confining the electron around one of the nuclei. We show how to use the radiation scattered in these conditions by the molecule to achieve real-time control of the molecular dynamics.

The dynamics of the electron in a homonuclear driven molecular ion

Abstract The radiation diffused by a one-dimensional homonuclear molecular ion driven by a laser field is studied as a function of the time. When the photon energy is resonant with the energy gap between the ground and the first excited state, the electronic probability density is seen to undergo slow and deep oscillations between the two nuclei. Synchronous to such oscillations, deep modulations of the emitted power are observed. The period of oscillation is of the order of 10 optical cycles. Detection of the variation in the intensity of the emitted electromagnetic spectrum therefore brings information on the position of the electron in the molecule.

High Harmonics Generation from structured nanorings

In this work we study the radiation diffused by a fictitious structured nanoring driven by an intense laser field. In our model we consider an electron moving through a cosine-shape potential. The results show that the ring, under particular conditions, emits a wide spectrum of harmonics.

The influence of the quantum nature of nuclei in high harmonic generation from H+2-like molecular ions

We study the full quantum dynamics of a simple molecular ion driven by an intense laser field. In particular we show that the quantum nature of the nuclear dynamics affects the emitted high harmonic generation (HHG) spectra, strongly reshaping the plateau region. In fact, it is evident that the characteristic flat trend is transformed into a descending trend, with the lower harmonics being two orders of magnitude more intense than the higher harmonics. We show that this effect is more pronounced in the lighter isotopic species of H2+ molecular ions and we also demonstrate that in this case the contribution to HHG from the antibonding electronic energetic surface is of the same order of magnitude as that from the bonding state.

Evidence of nuclear motion in H2-like molecules by means of high harmonic generation

The dynamics of hydrogen-like molecules is investigated beyond the usual fixed nuclei approximation. The nuclear motion introduces in the familiar spectrum of emitted radiation additional regular lines whose separation is essentially given by the vibrational frequency of nuclear motion. A wavelet analysis of the emitted spectrum shows that the intensity of the harmonic lines is modulated with the same period of the nuclear motion; this suggests the possibility of the real-time control of the nuclear dynamics.