The potential energy surfaces of He2+: implications for femtosecond spectroscopy

The potential energy surfaces of the ground state and excited states of the helium dimer ion (He2+) are calculated using MRSDCI wavefunctions. Wavepacket dynamics simulations are performed on the excited B-state (2Πu) of He2+ to illustrate the interesting aspects of this prototypical 3-electron system. Implications for femtosecond and sub-femtosecond pump-probe laser experiments are discussed.