Delocalized electronic behavior observed in transition metal oxide clusters under strong-field excitation.

Heterogeneously composed clusters are exposed to intensity resolved, 100 fs laser pulses to reveal the energy requirements for the production of the high charge states of both metal and nonmetal ions. The ionization and fragmentation of group V transition metal oxide clusters are here examined with laser intensities ranging nearly four orders in magnitude (∼3 × 10(11) W/cm(2) to ∼2 × 10(15) W/cm(2)) at 624 nm. The ionization potentials of the metal atoms are measured using both multiphoton ionization and tunneling ionization models. We demonstrate that the intensity selective scanning method can be utilized to measure the low ionization potentials of transition metals (∼7 eV). The high charge states demonstrate an enhancement in ionization that is three orders of magnitude lower in laser intensity than predicted for the atomic counterparts. Finally, the response from the various metals and the oxygen is compared to elucidate the mechanism of enhanced ionization that is observed. Specifically, the sequence of ion appearances demonstrates delocalized electron behavior over the entire cluster.