Routes to formation of highly excited neutral atoms in the breakup of strongly driven H2

We present a theoretical quasiclassical treatment of the formation, during Coulomb explosion, of highly excited neutral H atoms (H*) for strongly driven H-2. This process, where after the laser field is turned off, one electron escapes to the continuum while the other occupies a Rydberg state, was recently reported in an experimental study [B. Manschwetus et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 113002 (2009)]. We find that two-electron effects are important in order to correctly account for all pathways leading to H* formation. We identify two pathways where the electron that escapes to the continuum does so either very quickly or after remaining bound for a few periods of the laser field. These two pathways of H* formation have distinct traces in the probability distribution of the escaping electron momentum components.