Photoelectron holography of the H2+ molecule

We investigate the photoelectron spectrum of the H 2 + target induced by few-cycle XUV laser pulses using first principle calculations. In the photoelectron spectrum, by performing calculations for different internuclear separations, we investigate how the structure of the target is influencing the spatial interference pattern. This interference pattern is created by the coherent superposition of electronic wave packets emitted at the same time, but following different paths. We find that the location of the interference minima in the spectra is dominantly determined by the target’s ionization energy, however, by comparing the H 2 + results with model calculations with spherically symmetric potentials, clear differences were observed for the molecular potential relative to the central potentials. Next to the main feature (spatial interference) we have also identified the traces of the two-center interference in the photoelectron spectrum, however, these were mainly washed out due to the complex electronic wave packet dynamics that occurs during the interaction with the considered laser field. Graphical abstract