On the control of ionic fragment channels using femtosecond pulse excitation

We consider the excitation of a triatomic molecule with ultrashort laser pulses. A first pulse prepares a vibrational wave packet in an excited electronic state and a time-delayed second pulse ionizes the molecule. We show that, depending on the delay time, different ionic fragment channels can be populated with high efficiency. Thus the present study consists of the application of the Tannor–Rice–Kosloff control scheme to pump–probe ionization processes.