DYNAMIC AND GEOMETRIC LASER-INDUCED ALIGNMENT OF MOLECULES IN INTENSELASER FIELDS

The angular distribution of the ionic fragments from multiphoton disso ciative ionization of diatomic molecules shows a pronounced anisotropy . Calculations within the field-ionization, Coulomb explosion model sh ow that the experimental I-2 results (pulses of 50 fs at an intensity of similar to 10(14) W cm(-2)) can be explained without invoking reori entation of the molecular axis. The fragments of the lighter H-2 and N -2 molecules, on the other hand, show clear signs of being forced into alignment.