# Influence of energetically close orbitals on molecular high-order harmonic generation - Physics > Atomic Physics

Abstract: We investigate the contributions from the $3\sigma {g}$ and $1\pi {u}$ andmolecular orbitals in high-order harmonic generation in $N {2}$, withparticular emphasis on quantum-interference effects. We consider both thephysical processes in which the electron is freed and returns to the sameorbital, and those in which it is ionized off one orbital and recombines withthe other. We show that the quantum-interference patterns observed in thehigh-order harmonic spectra are predominantly determined by the $3\sigma {g}$orbital. This holds both for the situation in which only the $1\pi {ux}$orbital is considered, and the dynamics of the electron is restricted to theplane $p {x}p {z},$ or in the full three-dimensional case, if the azimuthalangle is integrated over and the degeneracy of $1\pi {u}$ is taken intoaccount.

Author: C. Figueira de Morisson Faria, B. B. Augstein

Source: https://arxiv.org/