High-order harmonic generation in alkanes

We have investigated the process of high-order harmonic generation in light alkanes by using femtosecond laser pulses. We show the experimental results cannot be matched by a model that assumes a single active electron only in a hydrogenic s orbital. Clear evidences are shown of the important role played by the p-like character originating from the covalent C-H bond. By constructing a suitable mixture of s-type and p-type atomic wave functions, an excellent agreement between measurements in methane and simulations is found, thus confirming the validity of the developed method as a general tool for the analysis of high-order harmonic generation in complex molecules.