Correlated two-electron momentum spectra for strong-field nonsequential double ionization of He at 800 nm

The Coulomb effect in nonsequential double ionization by counter-rotating two-color elliptical polarization fields

Using a three-dimensional classical ensemble model, nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Ar atoms by counter-rotating two-color elliptical polarization (TCEP) fields is investigated. The major axes of the two elliptical fields are aligned in different directions. The relative alignment of the two elliptical fields strongly affects the waveform of the combined electric field and the ultrafast dynamics of NSDI in TCEP fields. Numerical results show that the correlated electron momentum distributions in the x direction evolve from a V-shaped structure near the axis to a distribution concentrated on the diagonal with the angle between the two elliptical major axes increasing. The asymmetry of the energy sharing between the two electrons during recollision results in the V-shaped structure in the correlated momentum spectrum. Back analysis indicates that the recollision times of a part of the trajectories move from the peak to the valley of the combined electric field with the angle between the two elliptical major axes increasing. Therefore, for the case of a larger angle between the two elliptical major axes, the electrons experience a longer time to escape away from the vicinity of the parent ion and thus the stronger Coulomb effect from the parent ion makes the momentum difference between two electrons small, which results in a distribution concentrated on the diagonal. This provides an effective avenue to control the electron ultrafast dynamics in NSDI.

High-Intensity Harmonic Generation with Energy Tunability Produced by Robust Two-Color Linearly Polarized Laser Fields

By using the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we theoretically explored the high-order harmonic generation process under the interaction of high-intensity two-color ultrashort driving laser pulses with atoms. The symmetry of the electric field of the laser pulse will be broken. The producing electric field was controlled at the subcycle level by an IR laser and its second harmonic, which has the unique characteristic that two sequential half-cycles become distinct, rather than merely opposite in sign. Compared with the case of the atom in the fundamental laser pulse, the harmonic efficiency showed an increase of 1∼2 orders of magnitude at specific harmonic order with this combined pulse action. Through the theoretical analysis with the “three-step model”, it was demonstrated that the enhancement of the harmonic intensity is due to the fast ionization of electrons at the ionization moment and the short time from ionization to recombination of ionized electrons. In addition, effects of the peak field amplitude ratio, the full width at half maximum, the phase delay of the two-color pulses, the laser intensity and ionization probability on the harmonic efficiency enhancement were also investigated.

Ellipticity dependence of anticorrelation in the nonsequential double ionization of Ar

Within the framework of the improved quantitative rescattering (QRS) model, we simulate the correlated two-electron momentum distributions (CMDs) for nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Ar by elliptically polarized laser pulses with a wavelength of 788 nm at an intensity of 0.7 × 10¹⁴ W/cm² for the ellipticities ranging from 0 to 0.3. Only the CMDs for recollision excitation with subsequent ionization (RESI) are calculated and the contribution from recollision direct ionization is neglected. According to the QRS model, the CMD for RESI can be factorized as a product of the parallel momentum distribution (PMD) for the first released electron after recollision and the PMD for the second electron ionized from an excited state of the parent ion. The PMD for the first electron is obtained from the laser-free differential cross sections for electron impact excitation of Ar⁺ calculated using state-of-the-art many-electron R-matrix theory while that for the second electron is evaluated by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The results show that the CMDs for all the ellipticities considered here exhibit distinct anticorrelated back-to-back emission of the electrons along the major polarization direction, and the anticorrelation is more pronounced with increasing ellipticity. It is found that anticorrelation is attributed to the pattern of the PMD for the second electron ionized from the excited state that, in turn, is caused by the delayed recollision time with respect to the instant of the external field crossing. Our work shows that both the ionization potential of the excited parent ion and the laser intensity play important roles in the process.

Electron correlation and recollision dynamics in nonsequential double ionization by counter-rotating two-color elliptically polarized laser fields

Nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Argon atoms by counter-rotating two-color elliptically polarized (TCEP) fields is investigated with a three-dimensional classical ensemble model. Different from two-color circularly polarized fields, the combined electric field in TCEP pulses has no symmetry and the ionized electron mainly returns to the parent ion from one direction. Thus the electron momentum distributions show strong asymmetry. Numerical results show with the increase of the relative phase between the two elliptical fields, the return angle of the travelling electron, i.e., the angle between the return direction of the electron and the +x direction, gradually decreases. Moreover, the dominant behavior of electron pairs evolves from anti-correlation to correlation with the relative phase increasing. This provides an avenue to control the return angle and electron correlation behavior by the relative phase between the two elliptical fields.

Magnetic-Field Effect as a Tool to Investigate Electron Correlation in Strong-Field Ionization

The influence of the magnetic component of the driving electromagnetic field is often neglected when investigating light-matter interaction. We show that the magnetic component of the light field plays an important role in nonsequential double ionization, which serves as a powerful tool to investigate electron correlation. We investigate the magnetic-field effects in double ionization of xenon atoms driven by near-infrared ultrashort femtosecond laser pulses and find that the mean forward shift of the electron momentum distribution in light-propagation direction agrees well with the classical prediction, where no under-barrier or recollisional nondipole enhancement is observed. By extending classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations beyond the dipole approximation, we reveal that double ionization proceeds via recollision-induced doubly excited states, followed by subsequent sequential over-barrier field ionization of the two electrons. In agreement with this model, the binding energies do not lead to an additional nondipole forward shift of the electrons. Our findings provide a new method to study electron correlation by exploiting the effect of the magnetic component of the electromagnetic field.

Simultaneous Excitation of Helium by Means of an Electron and a Photon: A Joined Experimental and Theoretical Study

We report on a joined experimental and theoretical study of differential cross-sections resulting from inelastic scattering of a monoenergetic electron by helium atoms in the presence of an intense carbon dioxide laser. In particular, we measured the signals of the scattered electrons during the simultaneous electron–photon excitation of He 21P state for the first three microseconds of the laser pulse. The signals were measured for an incident electron energy of 45 eV and showed a structure that emerged at small scattering angles. The latter was found to be sensitive to the nature of the transferred photons, as well as the intensity of the laser field. The experimental findings were supported by quantum calculations based on the second-order Born approximation in which the correlated electron–electron interactions were taken into account.

Electron angular correlation in nonsequential double ionization of molecules by counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized fields

Electron correlation in nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of molecules by counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized (TCCP) fields is investigated with a three-dimensional classical ensemble model. Numerical results indicate that the two electrons from NSDI of molecules in counter-rotating TCCP fields show strong angular correlation and the angular correlation behavior sensitively depends on the internuclear distance. With the internuclear distance increasing, the dominant behavior of electron pairs evolves from correlation to anti-correlation. It leaves a clear imprint on the ion momentum distributions, which exhibit an inverted Y-shape distribution at a small internuclear distance and a triangle-shape distribution at a large internuclear distance. Back analysis indicates that the asymmetric electron energy sharing by soft recollision and longer time delay of double ionization are responsible for more anti-correlated emissions at large internuclear distances.

Three-electron correlations in strong laser field ionization

Strong field processes involving several active electrons reveal unambiguous dynamical signatures of the Pauli principle importance even in the nonrelativistic regime. We exemplify this statement studying three active electrons model atoms interacting with strong pulsed radiation, using an ab-initio time-dependent Schrödinger equation on a grid. In our restricted dimensionality model we are able to analyze momenta correlations of the three outgoing electrons using Dalitz plots. The different symmetries of the electronic wavefunctions, directly related to the initial state spin components, appear clearly visible.

Nonsequential double ionization of Ar in near-single-cycle laser pulses

Using the improved quantitative rescattering (QRS) model, we simulate the correlated two-electron momentum distributions (CMD) for nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Ar by near-single-cycle laser pulses with a wavelength of 750 nm at an intensity of 2.8 × 10¹⁴ W/cm². With the accurate cross sections obtained from fully quantum mechanical calculations for both electron impact excitation and electron impact ionization of Ar⁺, we unambiguously identify the contributions from recollision direct ionization (RDI) and recollision excitation with subsequent ionization (RESI). Our analysis reveals that RESI constitutes the main contribution to NSDI of Ar under the conditions considered here. The simulated results are directly compared with experimental measurements [Bergues et al., Nature Commun. 3, 813 (2012)] in which each NSDI event is tagged with the carrier-envelope phase (CEP). It is found that the overall pattern of both the CEP-resolved and the CEP-averaged CMDs measured in experiment are well reproduced by the QRS model, and the cross-shaped structure in the CEP-averaged CMD is attributed to the strong forward scattering of the recolliding electron as well as the depletion effect in tunneling ionization of the electron from an excited state of the parent ion.

Mapping initial transverse momenta of tunnel-ionized electrons to rescattering double ionization in nondipole regimes

We investigate the double ionization of a model Neon atom in strong middle infrared laser pulses by simulating the classical trajectories of the electron ensemble. After one electron tunnels out from the laser-dressed Coulomb barrier, it might undergo different returning trajectories depending on its initial transverse momentum, which in this wavelength may propagate along or deviate from the polarization direction. This initial transverse momentum determines the rescattering time, and thus some trajectories can have returning time longer than one optical cycle. These late-returning trajectories determine the correlated electron-electron momentum distribution for double ionization and allow us to disentangle each double ionization event from the final momentum distribution. The description of these trajectories allow us also to understand how the nondipole effects modify the correlated electron-electron momentum distribution in double ionization.

Relative phase effect of nonsequential double ionization of molecules by counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized fields

Relative phase effect of nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of aligned molecules by counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized (TCCP) fields is investigated with a three-dimensional classical ensemble model. Numerical results show that NSDI yield in counter-rotating TCCP fields sensitively depends on the relative phase of the two components, which exhibits a sin-like behavior with the period of π/2. NSDI yield achieves its maximum at the relative phase π/8 and minimum at 3π/8. Back analysis indicates the recollision time and the return angle of the electron strongly depend on the relative phase of the two components, which results in the dominant emission direction of the electrons, is different for different relative phases. This indicates that the recollision process can be steered by changing the relative phase of the two components in counter-rotating TCCP laser fields. Meantime, it provides an avenue to obtain information about the recollision time and the return angle in the recollision process from the electron momentum distribution.

Intensity dependence in nonsequential double ionization of helium

Using the quantitative rescattering model, we simulate the correlated two-electron momentum distributions for nonsequential double ionization of helium by 800 nm laser pulses at intensities in the range of (2 - 15) × 10¹⁴ W/cm². The experimentally observed V-shaped structure at high intensities [A. Rudenko et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 263003 (2007)] is attributed to the strong forward scattering in laser-induced recollision excitation and the asymmetric momentum distribution of electrons that are tunneling-ionized from the excited states. The final-state electron repulsion also plays an important role in forming the V-shaped structure.

Fingerprints of slingshot non-sequential double ionization on two-electron probability distributions

We study double ionization of He driven by near-single-cycle laser pulses at low intensities at 400 nm. Using a three-dimensional semiclassical model, we identify the pathways that prevail non-sequential double ionization (NSDI). We focus mostly on the delayed pathway, where one electron ionizes with a time-delay after recollision. We have recently shown that the mechanism that prevails the delayed pathway depends on intensity. For low intensities slingshot-NSDI is the dominant mechanism. Here, we identify the differences in two-electron probability distributions of the prevailing NSDI pathways. This allows us to identify properties of the two-electron escape and thus gain significant insight into slingshot-NSDI. Interestingly, we find that an observable fingerpint of slingshot-NSDI is the two electrons escaping with large and roughly equal energies.

Internal collision induced strong-field nonsequential double ionization in molecules

Using the classical ensemble method, we have investigated the alignment dependence of the correlated electron dynamics in strong-field nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of diatomic molecules driven by linearly polarized laser pulses. Our numerical results show that the correlated electron pairs are more likely to emit into the same hemisphere (side-by-side emission) for the parallel aligned molecules at the small internuclear distance, in agreement with previous experimental results. Surprisingly, as the internuclear distance increases, this side-by-side emission is more prevalent for the perpendicularly aligned molecules. Back analyzing of the classical trajectories shows that a considerable part of the NSDI events for the parallel aligned molecules at the large internuclear distances occur through an internal collision, not the well-known recollision. In the internal collision induced NSDI, the first electron tunnels through the inner barrier from the up-field core, moves directly towards the other core, and kicks out the second electron. For this type of NSDI events, the electron pairs are more likely to emit into the opposite hemispheres and thus the correlated electron momentum spectrum exhibits a more dominant back-to-back behavior in the parallel aligned molecules.

Nonsequential double ionization by co-rotating two-color circularly polarized laser fields

Nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Ar in co-rotating two-color circularly polarized (TCCP) laser fields is investigated with a three-dimensional classical ensemble model. Our numerical results indicate that co-rotating TCCP fields can induce NSDI by recollision process, while the yield is an order of magnitude lower than counter-rotating case. NSDI yield in co-rotating TCCP fields strongly depends on field ratio of the two colors and achieves its maximum at a ratio of 2.4. In co-rotating TCCP fields, the short recollision trajectory with traveling time smaller than one cycle is dominant. Moreover, the recollision time in co-rotating TCCP laser fields depends on the field ratio, which is mapped to the electron momentum distribution. This provides anavenue to obtain information about recollision time and access the subcycle dynamics of the recollision process.

Slingshot Nonsequential Double Ionization as a Gate to Anticorrelated Two-Electron Escape

At intensities below the recollision threshold, we show that recollision-induced excitation with one electron escaping fast after recollision and the other electron escaping with a time delay via a Coulomb slingshot motion is one of the most important mechanisms of nonsequential double ionization (NSDI), for strongly driven He at 400 nm. Slingshot NSDI is a general mechanism present for a wide range of low intensities and pulse durations. Anticorrelated two-electron escape is its striking hallmark. This mechanism offers an alternative explanation of anticorrelated two-electron escape obtained in previous studies.

Intensity-dependent two-electron emission dynamics in nonsequential double ionization by counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized laser fields

Nonsequential double ionization of helium in counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized laser fields is investigated with a three-dimensional classical ensemble model. At moderate intensity, the momentum distribution of the two electrons shows a maximum in the middle of each side of the triangle of the negative vector potential. At high intensity, the momentum distribution exhibits a double-triangle structure, which is attributed to the different values of the laser intensity where the two electrons are released after recollision. At low intensity, the momentum distribution shows a shift deviating from the middle of the side of the triangle of the negative vector potential. This is because the first electrons are emitted within a narrow time window after the field maximum. In addition, at low intensity, double-recollision events and NSDI originating from doubly excited states induced by recollision are prevalent.

Anomalous ellipticity dependence in nonsequential double ionization of ArXe

Using a three-dimensional classical ensemble method, we present a theoretical study of nonsequential double ionization of ArXe dimer aligned along the minor axis of the elliptically polarized laser pulse. Numerical results show that NSDI probability firstly increases and then decreases with the laser ellipticity increasing, which is different from atoms. Moreover, the correlated electron momentum spectra from elliptical polarization are always asymmetric, and the asymmetry is enhanced as the ellipticity increases. Analysis backward in time indicates that in NSDI of ArXe aligned along the minor axis the recollision occurs via a semi-elliptical trajectory.

Controlling nonsequential double ionization of Ne with parallel-polarized two-color laser pulses

We measure the recoil-ion momentum distributions from nonsequential double ionization of Ne by two-color laser pulses consisting of a strong 800-nm field and a weak 400-nm field with parallel polarizations. The ion momentum spectra show pronounced asymmetries in the emission direction, which depend sensitively on the relative phase of the two-color components. Moreover, the peak of the doubly charged ion momentum distribution shifts gradually with the relative phase. The shifted range is much larger than the maximal vector potential of the 400-nm laser field. Those features are well recaptured by a semiclassical model. Through analyzing the correlated electron dynamics, we found that the energy sharing between the two electrons is extremely unequal at the instant of recollison. We further show that the shift of the ion momentum corresponds to the change of the recollision time in the two-color laser field. By tuning the relative phase of the two-color components, the recollision time is controlled with attosecond precision.

Multiple recollisions in nonsequential double ionization by counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized laser fields

With the three-dimensional (3D) classical ensemble method, we theoretically investigate the recollision dynamics in strong-field nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Ar by counter-rotating two-color circularly polarized laser fields. With the analysis of the NSDI trajectories, we find that not only multiple-recollision but also single-recollision processes occur in the double ionization events. Furthermore, the multiple-recollision and single-recollision processes both undergo the recollision-induced excitation with subsequent ionization (RESI) and recollision-induced ionization (RII). The angle between the momentum and the force of the laser field at the recollision moment can affect the times of the recollision.

Correlated electron dynamics in strong-field nonsequential double ionization of Mg

Using the classical ensemble model, we systematically investigate strong-field nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of Mg by intense elliptically polarized laser pulses with different wavelengths. Different from the noble atoms, NSDI occurs for Mg driven by elliptically and circularly polarized laser fields. Our results show that in elliptically and circularly polarized laser fields, the NSDI yield is sharply suppressed as the wavelength increases. Interestingly, the correlated behavior in the electron momentum spectra depends sensitively on the wavelengths. The corresponding electron dynamics is revealed by back tracing the classical trajectory.

Attosecond Electron Correlation Dynamics in Double Ionization of Benzene Probed with Two-Electron Angular Streaking

With a novel three-dimensional electron-electron coincidence imaging technique and two-electron angular streaking method, we show that the emission time delay between two electrons can be measured from tens of attoseconds to more than 1 fs. Surprisingly, in benzene, the double ionization rate decays as the time delay between the first and second electron emission increases during the first 500 as. This is further supported by the decay of the Coulomb repulsion in the direction perpendicular to the laser polarization. This result reveals that laser-induced electron correlation plays a major role in strong field double ionization of benzene driven by a nearly circularly polarized field.

Non-sequential double ionization with near-single cycle laser pulses

A three-dimensional semiclassical model is used to study double ionization of Ar when driven by a near-infrared and near-single-cycle laser pulse for intensities ranging from 0.85 × 10¹⁴ W/cm² to 5 × 10¹⁴ W/cm². Asymmetry parameters, distributions of the sum of the two electron momentum components along the direction of the polarization of the laser field and correlated electron momenta are computed as a function of the intensity and of the carrier envelope phase. A very good agreement is found with recently obtained results in kinematically complete experiments employing near-single-cycle laser pulses. Moreover, the contribution of the direct and delayed pathways of double ionization is investigated for the above observables. Finally, an experimentally obtained anti-correlation momentum pattern at higher intensities is reproduced with the three-dimensional semiclassical model and shown to be due to a transition from strong to soft recollisions with increasing intensity.

Recollision dynamics in nonsequential double ionization of atoms by long-wavelength pulses

Recollision dynamics and electron correlation behavior are investigated for several long laser wavelengths (1200-3000 nm) in nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of helium using three-dimensional classical ensembles. Numerical results show that for these long wavelengths NSDI events are mainly from the multiple-return trajectory which is different from the case of 800 nm. Moreover, with increasing laser wavelength NSDI events move from the diagonal to the two axes in the correlated electron momentum distributions, and finally form an experimentally observed prominent V-shaped structure [Phys. Rev. X 5, 021034 (2015)] in the first and third quadrants. Back analysis indicates that the asymmetric energy sharing between the two electrons at recollision is responsible for the formation of the prominent V-shaped structure of 3000 nm.

Nonsequential double ionization with mid-infrared laser fields

Using a full-dimensional Monte Carlo classical ensemble method, we present a theoretical study of atomic nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) with mid-infrared laser fields, and compare with results from near-infrared laser fields. Unlike single-electron strong-field processes, double ionization shows complex and unexpected interplays between the returning electron and its parent ion core. As a result of these interplays, NSDI for mid-IR fields is dominated by second-returning electron trajectories, instead of first-returning trajectories for near-IR fields. Some complex NSDI channels commonly happen with near-IR fields, such as the recollision-excitation-with-subsequent-ionization (RESI) channel, are virtually shut down by mid-IR fields. Besides, the final energies of the two electrons can be extremely unequal, leading to novel e-e momentum correlation spectra that can be measured experimentally.

Origin of double-line structure in nonsequential double ionization by few-cycle laser pulses

We investigate nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of molecules by few-cycle laser pulses at the laser intensity of 1.2-1.5 × 10(14) W/cm(2) using the classical ensemble model. The same double-line structure as the lower intensity (1.0 × 10(14) W/cm(2)) is also observed in the correlated electron momentum spectra for 1.2-1.4 × 10(14) W/cm(2). However, in contrast to the lower intensity where NSDI proceeds only through the recollision-induced double excitation with subsequent ionization (RDESI) mechanism, here, the recollision-induced excitation with subsequent ionization (RESI) mechanism has a more significant contribution to NSDI. This indicates that RDESI is not necessary for the formation of the double-line structure and RESI can give rise to the same type of structure independently. Furthermore, we explore the ultrafast dynamics underlying the formation of the double-line structure in RESI.

Dynamics of Strong-Field Double Ionization in Two-Color Counterrotating Fields

The double ionization of helium in bichromatic, circularly polarized intense laser fields is analyzed with a classical ensemble approach. It is found that counterrotating fields produce significant nonsequential double-ion yield and drive novel ionization dynamics. It is shown that distinct pathways to ionization can be modified by altering the relative intensities of the two colors, allowing for unique control of strong-field processes. Electrons are observed to return to the ion at different angles from the angle of ionization, opening new possibilities for probing electronic and molecular structure on the ultrafast time scale.

Transition of recollision trajectories from linear to elliptical polarization

Using a classical ensemble method, we revisit the topic of recollision and nonsequential double ionization with elliptically polarized laser fields. We focus on how the recollision mechanism transitions from short trajectories with linear polarization to long trajectories with elliptical polarization. We propose how this transition can be observed by meansuring the carrier-envelop-phase dependence of the correlated electron momentum spectra using currently available few-cycle laser pulses.

Transition of correlated-electron emission in nonsequential double ionization of Ar atoms

Emission of the two electrons released from nonsequential double ionization of argon atoms is anticorrelated at lower laser intensities but is correlated at higher laser intensities. Such a transition is caused by the momentum change of recollision-induced-ionization (RII) electrons. At lower laser intensities, the Coulomb repulsion between the two RII electrons dominates the motion of electrons and pushes them leaving the laser field back-to-back. At higher laser intensities, the drift momentum obtained from the laser field dominates the motion of electrons and drives them leaving the laser field side-by-side.

Mechanisms of strong-field double ionization of Xe

We perform a fully differential measurement on strong-field double ionization of Xe by 25 fs, 790 nm laser pulses in intensity region (0.4-3)×10(14) W/cm2. We observe that the two-dimensional correlation momentum spectra along the laser polarization direction show a nonstructured distribution for double ionization of Xe when decreasing the laser intensity from 3×10(14) to 4×10(13)  W/cm2. The electron correlation behavior is remarkably different with the low-Z rare gases, i.e., He, Ne, and Ar. We find that the electron energy cutoffs increase from 2.9Up to 7.8Up when decreasing the laser intensities from the sequential double ionization to the nonsequential double ionization regime. The experimental observation indicates that multiple rescatterings play an important role for the generation of high energy photoelectrons. We have further studied the shielding effect on the strong-field double ionization of high-Z atoms.

Subcycle control of electron-electron correlation in double ionization

Double ionization of neon with orthogonally polarized two-color (OTC) laser fields is investigated using coincidence momentum imaging. We show that the two-electron emission dynamics in nonsequential double ionization can be controlled by tuning the subcycle shape of the electric field of the OTC pulses. We demonstrate experimentally switching from correlated to anticorrelated two-electron emission, and control over the directionality of the two-electron emission. Simulations based on a semiclassical trajectory model qualitatively explain the experimental results by a subcycle dependence of the electron recollision time on the OTC field shape.

Strong-field double ionization through sequential release from double excitation with subsequent Coulomb scattering

We perform a triple coincidence study on differential momentum distributions of strong-field double ionization of Ar atoms in linearly polarized fields (795 nm, 45 fs, 7×10(13)  W/cm2). Using a three-dimensional two-electron atomic-ensemble semiclassical model including the tunneling effect for both electrons, we retrieve differential momentum distributions and achieve a good agreement with the measurement. Ionization dynamics of the correlated electrons for the side-by-side and back-to-back emission is analyzed separately. According to the semiclassical model, we find that the doubly excited states are largely populated after the laser-assisted recollision and large amounts of double ionization dominantly takes place through sequential ionization of doubly excited states at such a low laser intensity. Compared with the Coulomb-free and Coulomb-corrected sequential tunneling models, we verify that electrons can obtain an energy as large as ∼6.5U p through Coulomb scattering in the combined laser and doubly charged ionic fields.

Boosting photoabsorption by attosecond control of electron correlation

Electron correlation plays an essential role in a wide range of fundamentally important many-body phenomena in modern physics and chemistry. An example is the importance of electron-electron correlation in multiple ionization of multielectron atoms and molecules exposed to intense laser pulses. Manipulating the dynamic electron correlation in such photoinduced processes is a crucial step toward the coherent control of chemical reactions and photobiological processes. The generation of an attosecond extreme ultraviolet (EUV) pulse may enable such controls. Here, we show for the first time, from full-dimensional ab initio calculations of double ionization of helium in intense laser pulses (λ = 780 nm), that the electron-electron interactions can be instantaneously tuned using a time-delayed attosecond EUV pulse. Consequently, the probability of producing energetic electrons from excessive photoabsorption can be enhanced by an order of magnitude, by the attosecond control of electron-electron correlation.

Contribution of recollision ionization to the cross-shaped structure in nonsequential double ionization

With the three-dimensional classical ensemble model, we investigate the correlated electron emission in nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of argon atoms by few-cycle laser pulses. Our calculations well reproduce the experimentally observed cross-shaped structure in the correlated two-electron momentum spectrum [ Nature Commun. 3, 813 (2012)]. By tracing these NSDI trajectories, we find that besides the process of recollision-induced excitation with subsequent ionization just before the next field maximum, the recollision ionization also significantly contributes to the cross-shaped structure.

Attosecond correlated dynamics of two electrons passing through a transition state

The strong-field induced decay of a doubly excited, transient Coulomb complex Ar**→Ar(2+)+2e(-) is explored by tracing correlated two-electron emission in nonsequential double ionization of Ar as a function of the carrier-envelope phase. Using <6 fs pulses, electron emission is essentially confined to one optical cycle. Classical model calculations support that the intermediate Coulomb complex has lost memory of its formation dynamics and allows for a consistent, though model-dependent definition of "emission time," empowering us to trace transition-state two-electron decay dynamics with sub-fs resolution. We find a most likely emission time difference of ∼200±100 as.

A magnetic-bottle multi-electron-ion coincidence spectrometer

A novel multi-electron-ion coincidence spectrometer developed on the basis of a 1.5 m-long magnetic-bottle electron spectrometer is presented. Electrons are guided by an inhomogeneous magnetic field to a detector at the end of the flight tube, while a set of optics is used to extract counterpart ions to the same detector, by a pulsed inhomogeneous electric field. This setup allows ion detection with high mass resolution, without impairing the high collection efficiency for electrons. The performance of the coincidence spectrometer was tested with double ionization of carbon disulfide, CS(2) → CS(2)(2+) + e(-) + e(-), in ultrashort intense laser fields (2.8 × 10(13) W/cm(2), 280 fs, 1030 nm) to clarify the electron correlation below the rescattering threshold.

The effect of molecular alignment on correlated electron dynamics in nonsequential double ionization

The electron-electron correlation in nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) from aligned molecules by linearly polarized 800 nm laser pulses has been investigated with the three-dimensional classical ensemble model. The result shows that for the perpendicular alignment the two electrons involved in NSDI more likely exit the molecule into the opposite hemispheres as compared to the parallel alignment, which agrees well with the experimental result [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 203003 (2005)]. This alignment effect is qualitatively explained based on the suppressed potential barriers which are different for parallel molecules and perpendicular molecules. Additionally, the intensity dependence of the alignment effect is also explored.

Correlated electron dynamics in nonsequential double ionization by orthogonal two-color laser pulses

We have investigated the correlated electron dynamics in nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of helium by the orthogonally polarized two-color pulses that consisted of an 800-nm and a 400-nm laser fields using the classical ensemble model. Depending on the relative phase of the two-color field, the electron momentum distributions along the polarization direction of the 800-nm field exhibit a surprisingly strong anticorrelated or correlated behavior. Back analysis reveals that recollisions eventually leading to NSDI are concentrated in a time window as short as several hundreds attoseconds with this scheme. By changing the relative phase of the two-color field, the revisit time of recolliding electron wave packet has been controlled with attosecond precision, which is responsible for the various correlated behaviors of the two electrons. Our results reveal that the orthogonally polarized two-color field can serve as a powerful tool to control the correlated electron dynamics in NSDI.

Complex sub-laser-cycle electron dynamics in strong-field nonsequential triple ionization

Using the full three-dimensional classical ensemble model, we have investigated nonsequential triple ionization (NSTI) of Ne by intense linearly polarized laser fields systematically. Trajectory back analysis enables us to identify the various NSTI channels at different intensities in an intuitive way. The momentum distributions of the triply ionized ions calculated by this model agree well with the experimental results over a wide range of laser intensities [J. Phys. B 41, 081006 (2008)]. With this classical model we achieve insight into the complex sub-laser-cycle dynamics of the correlated three electrons in NSTI.

Quantum theory of recollisional (e, 2e) process in strong field nonsequential double ionization of helium

Based on the full quantal recollision model and field-free electron impact ionization theory, we calculate the correlated momentum spectra of the two outgoing electrons in strong field nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of helium to compare with recent experiments. By analyzing the relative strength of binary versus recoil collisions exhibited in the photoelectron spectra, we confirm that the observed fingerlike structure in the experiment is a consequence of the Coulomb interaction between the two emitted electrons. Our result supports the recollision mechanism of strong field NSDI at the most fundamental level.

Multiphoton double ionization of Ar and Ne close to threshold

In kinematically complete studies we explore double ionization (DI) of Ne and Ar in the threshold regime (I>3x10{13} W/cm{2}) for 800 nm, 45 fs pulses. The basic differences are found in the two-electron momentum distributions-"correlation" (CO) for Ne and "anticorrelation" (ACO) for Ar-that can be partially explained theoretically within a 3D classical model including tunneling. Transverse electron momentum spectra provide insight into "Coulomb focusing" and point to correlated nonclassical dynamics. Finally, DI threshold intensities, CO as well as ACO regimes are predicted for both targets.