Abstract:
A study is made of the transition of a molecular electron from a bound to a free state under
the influence of an alternating electric field produced by radiation whose photon energy is
less than the adiabatic ionization potentials of the molecule but greater than or of the order
of the energy of the normal vibrational transitions. In this case the adiabatic approximation
for the separation of the electron and the vibrational motion is still valid. The electron
motion is represented by means of a system of nonorthogonal wave functions, the effect of
the external field on the free-electron states being allowed for exactly. The Hamiltonian of
the vibrational motion is obtained in this representation and it is shown that allowance for
this motion leads to a molecule-specific ionization effect caused by the joint tunneling of an
electron and nuclei through the vibrational potential barrie r formed in the external field.
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