Effect of laser field ellipticity on the rovibrational excitations of a diatomic molecule

Laser-assisted multiphoton rovibrational excitation of a diatomic molecule due to an ion impact is studied using elliptically polarized radiation, taken in the dipole approximation. The laser molecule interactions are treated non-perturbatively. The utility of our formalism is illustrated by computing the cross-sections for vibration–rotation transitions νj → ν′j′ under ion–molecule collision. Results pertaining to the affect of laser parameters (polarization, frequency and intensity) which strongly effect the dynamics of the collision are also presented.