Effect of the finite speed of light in ionization of extended systems

Abstract

We study propagation effects due to the finite speed of light in ionization of extended systems. We present a general quantitative theory of these effects and show under which conditions such effects should appear. The finite speed of light propagation effects are encoded in the non-dipole terms of the time-dependent Shrödinger equation and display themselves in the photoelectron momentum distribution projected on the molecular axis. Our numerical modeling for the \Hp molecular ion and the \Ne dimer shows that the finite light propagation time from one atomic center to another can be accurately determined in a table top laser experiment which is much more readily affordable than an earlier synchrotron measurement by Grundmann {\em et al} [Science 370, 339 (2020)]