Fullerenes in intense laser fields

We have investigated the response of icosahedral fullerenes to an intense laser pulse using the strong-field $S$-matrix theory. First, we have studied the ionization of C$_{60}$ and other fullerenes up to high charge states and found that the theoretical results are in excellent agreement with experimental observations. The related phenomenon of suppressed ionization of the complex molecules is found to be due to the finite cage size and a multislit interference effect between partial waves emitted from different nuclei. Next, a comparison of the $S$-matrix predictions with recent experimental observations of ionization of C$_{60}$ in elliptically polarized fields will be presented. Finally, we have shown that the multislit interference effects leave their footprints on the high-order harmonic spectra generated in the fullerenes. Characteristic modulations are found in the plateau region of the spectra at mid-infrared wavelengths but not at near-infrared wavelengths. Using a simple spherical model the radius of the fullerene can be retrieved from the positions of the interference minima.