Multielectron dissociative ionization of molecules by strong femtosecond pulses - art. no. 023412

We solve the equations of the two-dimensional time-dependent Thomas-Fermi m odel for Cl-2 molecule exposed to an intense subpicosecond laser field. We investigate the influence of the spreading of an electronic wave packet in the direction perpendicular to the molecular axis on the dynamics of the mu ltielectron dissociative ionization process. We compare the response of the diatomic system to both linearly and circularly polarized laser pulses.