Abstract
Electronic dynamics of atoms and molecules in strong femtosecond pulses (≥1014 Wcm-2) was investigated by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Responses to a laser field areclassified into adiabatic and diabatic regimes. The quasi-static adiabatic model for tunnel ionization and higher-order harmonic generation is validated by quantal simulations. Ionization processes of diatomic molecules are analyzed in terms of laser-induced nonadiabatic transitions, dipole interaction energy, and electron correlation. In molecules, adiabaticity means that electron density transfers from nucleus to nucleus every half optical cycle and the electronic motion is strongly correlated with the nuclear motion (leading to reaction control). By changing the frequency and intensity, one could spatially transfer or halt an electron.
