Molecular above-threshold-ionization angular distributions with attosecond bichromatic intense XUV laser pulses

Angular distributions of molecular above-threshold ionization (MATI) in bichromatic attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) linear polarization laser pulses have been theoretically investigated. Multiphoton ionization in a prealigned molecular ion H-2(+) produces clear MATI spectra which show a forward-backward asymmetry in angular and momentum distributions which is critically sensitive to the carrier envelope phase (CEP) phi, the time delay Delta tau between the two laser pulses, and the photoelectron kinetic energies E-e. The features of the asymmetry in MATI angular distributions are described well by multiphoton perturbative ionization models. Phase differences of continuum electron wave functions can be extracted from the CEP phi and time delay Delta tau dependent ionization asymmetry ratio created by interfering multiphoton ionization pathways. At large internuclear distances MATI angular distributions exhibit more complex features due to laser-induced electron diffraction where continuum electron wavelengths are less than the internuclear distance.