Phase Dependence of Enhanced Ionization in Asymmetric Molecules

We study enhanced ionization (EI) in asymmetric molecules by solving the 3D time-dependent Schrödinger equation for HeH²⁺ driven by a few-cycle laser pulse linearly polarized along the molecular axis. We find that EI is much stronger when the laser’s carrier-envelope phase is such that the electric field at the peak of the pulse is antiparallel to the permanent dipole of the molecule (PDM). This phase dependence is explained by studying the molecule in the presence of a static electric field. When this field is antiparallel to the PDM, the energy of the dressed ground state moves up (with increasing internuclear distance R) to cross with excited states, leading to a stronger ionization via intermediate state resonances and via tunneling. We predict analytically the laser and molecular parameters at which these crossings are expected to occur in any asymmetric molecule.