Coherent control of electron wave packets in dissociating H2+

Coherent control of electron localization in the dissociation of a hydrogen molecular ion exposed to an attosecond pulse train and a time-delayed near-infrared laser pulse are studied by solving numerically the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. The attosecond pulses in the train generate a train of electron wave packets in the dissociating molecular ion, which are steered by the near-infrared laser field between the two nuclei. Our results show that a large asymmetry in the total electron localization can be achieved if the attosecond pulses are separated by a full cycle of the near-infrared pulse, while the asymmetry and the degree of control are much smaller for a pulse separation of half a cycle. The analysis of results reveals an efficient control mechanism on a timescale of few femtoseconds via the time-delay and the carrier-to-envelope phase of the near-infrared pulse.