Nonadiabatic dynamics of polyatomic molecules and ions in strong laser fields

Ionization and/or fragmentation of large organic molecules in strong laser fields can be quantitatively understood as a transition from adiabatic to nonadiabatic dynamics of the electronic degrees of freedom. Measurements of fragmentation patterns demonstrate regular trends as a function of the size and electronic structure of a molecule. A theoretical model is presented that agrees quantitatively with the measurements for a series of polycyclic aromatic molecules.