Ionization of a molecular hydrogen ion by a strong low-frequency electromagnetic field of laser radiation

Simple analytical expressions are obtained for the energy and angular distributions of outgoing electrons in ionization of a molecular hydrogen ion by a strong low-frequency electromagnetic field as well as for the ionization probabilities per unit time. The cases of linear and circular polarization of the laser radiation are studied. It is shown that in contrast to the case of the ionization of atoms oscillations appear in the energy spectra of the photoelectrons as a function of their kinetic energy. The well-known limits for the tunneling ionization probabilities for the hydrogen atom by a strong low-frequency alternating field are obtained in the case of large internuclear separations. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.