XUV ionization of the H₂ molecule studied with attosecond angular streaking

We study orientation and two-center interference effects in attosecond time-resolved photoionization of the H 2 molecule. Time resolution of extreme-ultraviolet ionization of H 2 is gained through the phase retrieval capability of attosecond angular streaking demonstrated earlier by Kheifets et al (2022 Phys. Rev. A 106 033106). Once applied to H 2 , this technique delivers an anisotropic phase and time delay which both depend sensitively on the molecular axis orientation. In addition, the photoelectron momentum distribution displays a very clear two-center interference pattern. When the interference formula of Walter and Briggs (1999 J. Phys. B 32 2487) is applied, an effective photoelectron momentum appears to be greater than the asymptotic momentum at the detector. This effect is explained by a molecular potential well surrounding the photoemission center.