Abstract

The ATI electron energy spectra of atoms in the short pulse regime up to intensities of 10¹⁴ W/cm² are now well understood¹. Naively applying this understanding of atoms to molecules would lead one to expect molecules to yield a very complex electron energy spectrum due to the multitude of potential curves and vibrational and rotational structure in the molecule. On the contrary, recently obtained ATI electron spectra of nitrogen show a relatively simple structure surprisingly similar to the spectra of atoms (see Fig. 1).

© 1991 Optical Society of America