Vertical and nonvertical transitions in triple-ionization-induced dissociation of diatomic molecules

In this paper, we study triple-ionization-induced dissociation in N₂ and O₂ for laser polarization aligning either parallel or perpendicular along the molecular axis. For the first time, we demonstrate that vertical or nonvertical transition can be turned on and off by simply switching the laser polarization between being perpendicular and parallel to the molecular axis. We also show that the dependence of kinetic energy release on intensity can be used to distinguish vertical from nonvertical transition in triple-ionization-induced dissociation.