High-harmonic spectroscopy of molecular isomers

We demonstrate that high-order-harmonic generation (HHG) spectroscopy can be used to probe stereoisomers of randomly oriented 1,2-dichloroethylene (C2H2Cl2) and 2-butene (C4H8). The high-harmonic spectra of these isomers are distinguishable over a range of laser intensities and wavelengths. Time-dependent numerical calculations of angle-dependent ionization yields for 1,2-dichloroethylene suggest that the harmonic spectra of molecular isomers reflect differences in their strong-field ionization. The subcycle ionization yields for the cis isomer are an order of magnitude higher than those for the trans isomer. The sensitivity in discrimination of the harmonic spectra of cis- and trans- isomers is greater than 8 and 5 for 1,2-dichloroethylene and 2-butene, respectively. We show that HHG spectroscopy cannot differentiate the harmonic spectra of the two enantiomers of the chiral molecule propylene oxide (C3H6O).