Decoding the electron dynamics in high-order harmonic generation from asymmetric molecular ions in elliptically polarized laser fields

The high-order harmonic generation from an asymmetric molecular ion is theoretically investigated based on the Born-Oppenheimer model with two-dimensional electron dynamics. It is shown that the harmonic intensity changes periodically in elliptically polarized laser fields. The periodical character is ellipticity-dependent. By establishing the physical image, the periodicity of the harmonic intensity can be ascribed to the contributions of the ground state and the excited state. Furthermore, the electron dynamics from different electronic states can be selected via combining the elliptically polarized laser field with a static electric field. The harmonics dominated either by ground state or excited state are emitted once in an optical cycle in the combined laser field.