Electronic and nuclear correlation dynamics of H₂⁺ in an intense femtosecond laser pulse

We investigate the wave packet dynamics of H₂⁺ in a strong (≥10¹⁴W/cm²) femtosecond pulse by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a 3D model Hamiltonian (molecular orientation is fixed). As the 3D packet moves towards larger internuclear distances, the response to the laser electric field switches from the adiabatic one to the diabatic one. Electron density transfers from a well associated with a nucleus to the other well every half optical cycle, following which the interwell transition is suppressed. As a result, the electron is distributed asymmetrically. In the adiabatic region, the correlation between the electronic and nuclear motions slows down the dissociative motion and it is clearly observed in periodic interwell transitions within a half cycle.