Rescattering photoelectron spectroscopy of small molecules

We have measured angle-resolved rescattering photoelectron spectra of three small molecules (O2, CO2, and C2H4) using intense near-infrared laser pulses at several laser intensities. Based on the factorization formula for rescattering processes, we have extracted, from the electron spectra, the field-free differential cross sections of elastic electron scattering by the molecular ions. The detail of the extraction procedure is described. The experimentally extracted differential cross sections are compared with theoretical calculations of the field-free differential cross sections. Fairly good agreement between the experimentally extracted and theoretically calculated DCSs for wide range of the collision momentum indicates the validity of the present extraction procedure for the molecules.