Effect of the finite speed of light in ionization of extended molecular systems

Abstract

We study propagation efects due to the fnite speed of light in ionization of extended molecular systems. We present a general quantitative theory of these efects and show under which conditions such efects should appear. The fnite speed of light propagation efects are encoded in the non-dipole terms of the time-dependent Shrödinger equation and display themselves in the photoelectron momentum distribution projected on the molecular axis. Our numerical modeling for the H+ 2 molecular ion and the Ne2 dimer shows that the fnite light propagation time from one atomic center to another can be accurately determined in a table top laser experiment which is much more readily accessible than the ground breaking synchrotron measurement by Grundmann et al. (Science 370:339, 2020)