High-harmonic spectroscopy of molecular isomers
- Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, 150 Louis-Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5 (Canada)
- National Research Council of Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6 (Canada)
We demonstrate that high-order-harmonic generation (HHG) spectroscopy can be used to probe stereoisomers of randomly oriented 1,2-dichloroethylene (C{sub 2}H{sub 2}Cl{sub 2}) and 2-butene (C{sub 4}H{sub 8}). The high-harmonic spectra of these isomers are distinguishable over a range of laser intensities and wavelengths. Time-dependent numerical calculations of angle-dependent ionization yields for 1,2-dichloroethylene suggest that the harmonic spectra of molecular isomers reflect differences in their strong-field ionization. The subcycle ionization yields for the cis isomer are an order of magnitude higher than those for the trans isomer. The sensitivity in discrimination of the harmonic spectra of cis- and trans- isomers is greater than 8 and 5 for 1,2-dichloroethylene and 2-butene, respectively. We show that HHG spectroscopy cannot differentiate the harmonic spectra of the two enantiomers of the chiral molecule propylene oxide (C{sub 3}H{sub 6}O).
- OSTI ID:
- 22093438
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review. A, Vol. 84, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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