We derive a simple and efficient formula, from a second- order perturbation theory, for simulating pump-probe signals. The resulting formula clearly separates the pump and probe steps, describing them as a simple filtering process, and the evolution of the wavepacket which only takes place on the excited electronic state, where we look for dynamical information. The physical implications of this model for standard pump-probe experiments and also for pump- probe electron spectroscopy are discussed. The formula is applied to the HgAr van der Waals complex and is compared against an exact calculation.

Date Published: 15 May 1998
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 3271, Laser Techniques for State-Selected and State-to-State Chemistry IV, (15 May 1998); doi: 10.1117/12.308394

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3271:
Laser Techniques for State-Selected and State-to-State Chemistry IV
John W. Hepburn; Robert E. Continetti; Mark A. Johnson, Editor(s)