Interference in above-threshold-ionization electron distributions from molecules

We present quantum-mechanical studies on above-threshold ionization of molecular ions in two and three dimensions. The momentum distributions show signatures of interfering emissions from the molecular centers. These structures deviate from a simple double-slit model that ignores the electron-ion interaction, but they are reproduced by an eikonal model. Such distortions of the interference pattern are partly responsible for the absence of clear interference patterns in the angle-integrated electron energy spectra. © 2011 American Physical Society