Multielectron effect in strong-field ionization of CO

Abstract: We investigate the effects of the multielectron polarization of the ion described by the induced dipole potential in photoelectron momentum distributions produced in ionization of the CO molecule by a strong laser field. We present results of the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation in three spatial dimensions and semiclassical simulations accounting for quantum interference. We predict the change of the asymmetry and interference patterns in two-dimensional photoelectron momentum distributions as well as longitudinal momentum distributions. By using a semiclassical model we identify the mechanism responsible for the observed effects. It is shown that the modifications of electron momentum distributions are caused by a combined effect of the force acting on photoelectrons due to the induced dipole potential and the linear Stark-shift of the ionization potential.