Speaker
Description
We report on strong field photoelectron holography in heteronuclear hydrogen chloride (HCl), using coincidence resolved momentum imaging to access channel and orientation dependent electron dynamics. By detecting the photoelectron in coincidence with the ionic fragments, we unambiguously separate dissociative ionization pathways and reconstruct the molecular frame without requiring laser induced alignment or orientation.
The measured photoelectron momentum distributions exhibit clear holographic interference structures that arise from the coherent superposition of direct and rescattered electron trajectories. Unlike homonuclear molecules, HCl provides an intrinsic molecular asymmetry that enables direct access to orientation dependent strong field dynamics. We show that this asymmetry manifests itself not through a breakdown of holographic symmetry, but through orientation selective population of ionization channels and corresponding phase shifts in the holographic fringes.
To support the experimental observations, we compare the data to simulations based on the Coulomb quantum orbit strong field approximation. The calculations reproduce the main holographic features and confirm that the observed patterns originate from long trajectory interference, with the heteronuclear character entering primarily through the molecular potential and orientation dependent ionization amplitude. This benchmarking establishes channel resolved holography as a sensitive probe of molecular structure and dynamics beyond symmetric systems.
Our results demonstrate that strong field photoelectron holography can be extended to heteronuclear molecules in a fully coincidence resolved framework, providing access to orientation dependent electron scattering without field induced symmetry breaking. This approach opens new opportunities for imaging ultrafast coupled electron nuclear dynamics in polar molecules and more complex systems, and establishes a robust pathway toward quantitative molecular frame holography in strong laser fields.
| Keyword-1 | COLTRIMS |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | strong field ionization |
| Keyword-3 | photoelectron holography |