Coulomb exploded directional double ionization of N₂O molecules in multicycle femtosecond laser pulses

We experimentally investigate Coulomb exploded directional double ionization of N₂O molecules in elliptically polarized femtosecond laser pulses. The denitrogenation and deoxygenation channels are accessed via various pathways. It leads to distinct asymmetries in directional breaking of the doubly ionized N₂O molecules versus the instantaneous laser field vector, which is revealed by tracing the sum-momentum spectra of the ionic fragments as a recoil of the ejected electrons. Our results demonstrate that the accessibility of the Coulomb exploded double ionization channels of N₂O molecules are ruled by the detailed potential energy curves, and the directional emission of the fragments are governed by the joint effects of the electron localization-assisted enhanced ionization of the stretched molecules and the profiles of the molecular orbitals.