Phase-sensitive x-ray absorption driven by strong infrared fields

In this paper it is demonstrated that electron vibrational absorption of molecules driven by strong IR field provides rich physical interpretations of dynamical processes on a short time scale. The phase of an infrared field influences strongly the trajectory of the nuclear wave packet and the probing spectrum. It is shown that the probe spectrum keeps memory of the infrared phase even after that the pump field left the system. The phase effect takes maximum value when the duration of the probe pulse is of the order of the infrared field period, and can be enhanced by a proper control of the duration and intensity of the pump pulse. The phase effect is different for oriented and disordered molecules and depends strongly on the intensity of pump radiation. It can be an effective tool to study charge transfer processes like proton transfer in hydrogen bonded networks.