Imaging molecular orbitals using photoionization

The interpretation of a recent experiment using high-order harmonic generation [Itatani et al., Nature 432 (2004) 867] as a measurement of the highest occupied molecular orbital of a molecule is conceptually problematic, even if the independent-particle picture is taken seriously. Guided by the relationship between the amplitude for one-photon-induced electron emission and the electron-ion recombination amplitude in the three-step model of high-order harmonic generation, it is argued that synchrotron-based photoionization might be a superior approach to imaging molecular orbitals. Within the Hartree-Fock independent-particle picture, the molecular-frame photoelectron angular distributions, measured as a function of photon energy, could be used to reconstruct all orbitals occupied in the Hartree-Fock ground state of the molecule investigated. It is suggested that laser alignment techniques could be employed to facilitate the measurement of the molecular-frame photoelectron angular distributions.