Dissociation dynamics of H2+ with short intense laser pulses:: a close-coupling study

A full close-coupling calculation is carried out for the dissociation of H-2(+) (Is sigma(g)) by strong, short laser pulses. This is done in the approximation of 'no rotation' and with the retention of only the two lowest electronic states. The basis set consists of the bound vibrational states and a number of groups of dissociating states that represent all the 'essential' continuum states needed to achieve full numerical convergence for the dissociation probabilities. The initial states upsilon = 4 and 7 were studied with laser wavelengths giving strong initial coupling to the continuum, pulse durations of 15 and 150 fs, and peak laser intensities up to 1 x 10(13) W cm(-2). The case of weak initial coupling to the continuum was also studied for 150 fs pulses and a wide range of intensifies for the initial states upsilon = 3, 4 and 5.