Phase Structure of Strong-Field Tunneling Wave Packets from Molecules

We study the phase structure of the tunneling wave packets from strong-field ionization of molecules and present a molecular quantum-trajectory Monte Carlo model to describe the laser-driven dynamics of photoelectron momentum distributions of molecules. Using our model, we reproduce and explain the alignment-dependent molecular frame photoelectron spectra of strong-field tunneling ionization of N-2 reported by M. Meckel et al. [Nat. Phys. 10, 594 (2014)]. In addition to modeling the low-energy photoelectron angular distributions quantitatively, we extract the phase structure of strong-field molecular tunneling wave packets, shedding light on its physical origin. The initial phase of the tunneling wave packets at the tunnel exit depends on both the initial transverse momentum distribution and the molecular internuclear distance. We further show that the ionizing molecular orbital has a critical effect on the initial phase of the tunneling wave packets. The phase structure of the photoelectron wave packet is a key ingredient for modeling strong-field molecular photoelectron holography, high-harmonic generation, and molecular orbital imaging.