Probing electron transfer within alkali-metal halides via high-order harmonic generation

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) from an excited alkali-metal halide diatomic molecule undergoing electron transfer is considered. A clear signature of electron transfer, a result of a nonadiabatic coupling between the covalent and ionic electronic states, is seen in the HHG spectrum. This work demonstrates the feasibility of HHG probing of simple chemically relevant electronic dynamics, an approach capable of providing spatial and momentum structure regarding the electron transfer process.