Probing Nuclear Motion by Frequency Modulation of Molecular High-Order Harmonic Generation

Molecular high-order harmonic generation (MHOHG) in a non-Born-Oppenheimer treatment of H-2(+), D-2(+), is investigated by numerical simulations of the corresponding time-dependent Schrodinger equations in full dimensions. As opposed to previous studies on amplitude modulation of intracycle dynamics in MHOHG, we demonstrate redshifts as frequency modulation (FM) of intercycle dynamics in MHOHG. The FM is induced by nuclear motion using intense laser pulses. Compared to fixed-nuclei approximations, the intensity of MHOHG is much higher due to the dependence of enhanced ionization on the internuclear distance. The width and symmetry of the spectrum of each harmonic in MHOHG encode rich information on the dissociation process of molecules at the rising and falling parts of the laser pulses, which can be used to retrieve the nuclear dynamics. Isotope effects are studied to confirm the FM mechanism.