Above-threshold ionization photoelectron spectrum from quantum trajectory

Many nonlinear quantum phenomena of intense laser-atom physics can be intuitively explained with the concept of trajectory. In this paper, Bohmian mechanics (BM) is introduced to study a multiphoton process of atoms interacting with the intense laser field: above-threshold ionization (ATI). Quantum trajectory of an atomic electron in intense laser field is obtained from the Bohm-Newton equation first and then the energy of the photoelectron is gained from its trajectory. With energies of an ensemble of photoelectrons, we obtain the ATI spectrum which is consistent with the previous theoretical and experimental results. Comparing BM with the classical trajectory Monte-Carlo method, we conclude that quantum potential may play a key role to reproduce the spectrum of ATI. Our work may present a new approach to understanding quantum phenomena in intense laser-atom physics with the image of trajectory.     

Experimental Research of Spontaneous Evolution from Ultracold Rydberg Atoms to Plasma

The spontaneous evolution from ultracold Rydberg atoms to plasma is investigated in a caesium MOT by using the method of field ionization. The plasma transferred from atoms in different Rydberg states （n = 22-32） are obtained experimentally. Dependence of the threshold time of evolving to plasma and the threshold number of initial Rydberg atoms on the principal quantum number of initial Rydberg states is studied. The experimental results are in agreement with hot-cold Rydberg-Rydberg atom collision ionization theory.     

双原子分子多光子电离强场效应的含时波包动力学研究

强激光非线性条件下分子的多光子电离过程呈现出较为明显的强场效应.由于这种效应不能用传统的量子微扰论来处理,“缀饰态”模型方法提供了物理图象清晰的处理光与物质相互作用的方案.本文基于含时波包动力学的基本理论,将激光场看作经典场,利用“缀饰态”模型研究了强场下双原子分子(NO、RbI等)的多光子电离过程.研究表明,激光场的强度、泵浦-探测脉冲延迟时间等对多光子电离光电子能谱的形状有着重要的影响,而这种影响是由光诱导势引起的.另外,在研究具有两个连续态的RbI体系时,自电离现象的发生也与势能面的交叉密切相关,并受外场强度的影响.本文计算模拟外场中分子的光电子能谱时所得到的强场效应对理解和实现原子分子过程的激光操控具有重要的意义.     

Generation of attosecond pulses in molecular nitrogen

We investigate the carrier-envelope phase dependence of the total ionization yield for single and double ionization of xenon. We compare our results to theoretical calculations and to the phase dependent asymmetry in photoelectron emission. We observe that the phase dependence of the photoion yields, regardless if single or double ionization, is at least 2-3 orders of magnitude below the photoelectron emission signal. We conclude that total photoionization yields are only very weakly dependent on the carrier envelope phase, and that they are not a useful means for measurement of the phase. It seems possible that the broad bandwidth of few-cycle pulses facilitates multiphoton ionization, which leads to a randomization of strong field ionization phase dependencies. Besides, we observe that the spatial asymmetry in photoelectron emission appears to be useful as an indicator for the laser pulse duration in the few cycle regime.     

光电子谱的峰开关效应

在文献[12]的基础上研究了强激光场作用下自电离原子的光电子谱,发现了与强场多光子电离中相类似的峰开关效应,从而进一步证实了强场下二阶离化过程和光电子谱中高阶峰的重要作用.本文结果对已有的强场自电离理论作了重要修正. 关键词：     

Limitations of the strong field approximation in ionization of the hydrogen atom by ultrashort pulses

We present a theoretical study of the ionization of hydrogen atoms as a result of the interaction with an ultrashort external electric field. Doubly-differential momentum distributions and angular momentum distributions of ejected electrons calculated in the framework of the Coulomb-Volkov and strong field approximations, as well as classical calculations are compared with the exact solution of the time dependent Schr ödinger equation. We show that in the impulsive limit, the Coulomb-Volkov distorted wave theory reproduces the exact solution. The validity of the strong field approximation is probed both classically and quantum mechanically. We found that classical mechanics describes the proper quantum momentum distributions of the ejected electrons right after a sudden momentum transfer, however pronounced the differences at latter stages that arise during the subsequent electron-nucleus interaction. Although the classical calculations reproduce the quantum momentum distributions, it fails to describe properly the angular momentum distributions, even in the limit of strong fields. The origin of this failure can be attributed to the difference between quantum and classical initial spatial distributions.     

Circular dichroism in laser-assisted short-pulse photoionization

A remarkable effect of circular dichroism, i.e., a difference in photoelectron spectra produced by right and left circularly polarized light in two-color multiphoton ionization of atoms, is predicted for the case when the atom is ionized by an extreme ultraviolet or x-ray femtosecond pulse in the field of a strong infrared laser pulse, both pulses being circularly polarized. We show that the sidebands formed in the spectra exhibit different circular dichroism often of different signs both in angle-resolved and angle-integrated experimental conditions. The effect can be used for detecting and measuring circular polarization of x rays in a spectral range where other methods are not effective.     

Dipole squeezing in the multi-photon Jaynes-Cummings model with and without the rotating-wave approximation

By virtue of the numerical method of Graham and Höhnerbach [12], we have investigated the quantum fluctuations of the atomic dipole variables in the multiphoton Jaynes-Cummings model with and without the rotating wave approximation (RWA) when it is restricted to the following initial condition: the atom in its superposition state and the field in the vacuum state. We found that even under the conditions in which the RWA is considered to be valid there are significant effects of virtual-photon field on dipole squeezing predicted in the RWA, and dipole squeezing turns to disappear for sufficiently strong coupling.     

Laser-induced breakdown of krypton near five-photon ionization threshold

Selective excitation of laser-induced breakdown in krypton in the pressure range 1–4 bar and the spectral range 420–620 nm at a laser intensity of 10¹¹ W/cm² has been studied. It is shown that the breakdown of krypton can be induced selectively due to resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization via excited atomic states. A number of four- and five-photon atomic resonances have been identified in breakdown excitation spectra. The role of different factors determining the selectivity of the breakdown has been studied. Possible analytical applications of a selective breakdown are discussed.     

Two-colour coherent control of multiphoton ionization： a comparison between long-range and short-range potential model atoms

Using the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation of a one-dimensional model atom in a two-colour laser field, we have investigated the effects of the potential models on coherent control of atomic multiphoton ionization. It is found that the photoelectron spectra are obviously different for the long-range (Coulomb-like) and short-range (with no excited bound states) potential model atoms, which are produced by two-colour coherent control of atomic multiphoton ionization in a few laser cycles. Our results indicate that two-colour coherent control of atomic multiphoton ionization can be observed in simulations, depending on the choice of the model potentials.     

Correlation of momenta of electrons and the nucleus in atoms

The process of resonant multiphoton ionization of a hydrogen atom in the ground 1s state is studied by direct numerical integration of the nonstationary Schrödinger equation for a quantum system in an electromagnetic field. The dependence of photoionization probability on the radiation intensity is found to be nonmonotonic. It is established that the minima of ionization correspond to multiphoton resonances between the ground state and one of the excited (Rydberg) atomic states perturbed by the laser field. It is shown that ionization is suppressed due to rearrangement of Rydberg states in a strong electromagnetic field and is accompanied by efficient Raman Λ transitions, which connect a set of closely lying Rydberg states via the continuum.     

Finite Space Complete Basis Method: Precision Computation of High-Resolution Spectrum near Ionization Threshold

A new method is proposed to describe quantum dynamical processes in finite space by using of a set of discretized complete bases. In this method, the finite space complete basis is obtained by solving the self-consistent field equation with reflecting boundary conditions. Hence, both negative and positive orbital energies can be obtained. Such method can be used in systems which involve dynamics only in the reaction zone, i.e., in a finite space. To illustrate the validity of the method, we present two examples: theoretical calculation of the high excited states spectra including the continuum of sodium and barium.     

Polarization effects in resonance-enhanced frequency tripling and multiphoton ionization in xenon under excitation by crossed laser beams

Generation of resonance-enhanced third harmonic and multiphoton ionization in xenon have been studied for different polarizations of crossed laser beams. Polarization control over the harmonic generation and resonant ionization processes in crossed beams is analyzed and discussed.     

The ionization of atoms in an intense nonclassical electromagnetic field

The ionization of atoms in a strong nonclassical unimodal electromagnetic field was considered. It was shown that the probability of ionization could substantially change depending on the quantum state of the field even at a constant mean number of quanta in the radiation mode. The difference of ionization rates was especially large for multiphoton ionization processes. It was, in particular, shown that a nonclassical field could be much more effective from the point of view of the ionization of atoms than a classical field of the same intensity. The characteristics of the decay of a bound atomic system state in a strong nonclassical field were studied without invoking perturbation theory.     

Laser induced breakdown of Ar,N2 and O2 gases using 1.064, 0.532, 0.355 and 0.266 μm radiation

An experimental investigation of laser-induced breakdown using Nd:YAG laser harmonics for argon, nitrogen and oxygen gases is reported. Pressure dependence as well as wavelength dependence of the breakdown threshold irradianceI _th is investigated. The experimental observations for 1.064 and 0.532 m laser wavelengths are in agreement with theoretical calculations which include the effects of multiphoton ionization and cascade ionization.     

Multiphoton atomic ionization in the field of a very short laser pulse

Closed analytic expressions are derived for the probability of multiphoton atomic and ionic ionization in a variable electric field ?(t), which are applicable for arbitrary Keldysh parameters γ. Dependencies of the ionization probability and photoelectron pulse spectrum on the shape of a very short laser pulse are analyzed. Examples of pulse fields of various forms, including a modulated light pulse with a Gaussian or Lorentz envelope, are considered in detail. The interference effect in the photoelectron energy spectrum during atomic ionization by a periodic field of a general form is examined. The range of applicability of the adiabatic approximation in the multiphoton ionization theory is discussed. The imaginary time method is used in the calculations, which allows the probability of particle tunneling through oscillating barriers to be effectively calculated.     

Above-barrier ionization and quantum interference in strong laser fields

Classical predictions of field ionization of hydrogen and of Coulomb scattering in strong laser fields are compared with corresponding exact numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation. In the quasi-static approximation, ionization rates are significantly lower than the quasi-classical tunneling rates in the regime of above-barrier ionization. This reduction is consistent with a simple classical barrier-suppression model. In time-periodic fields, the major differences between the classical and quantum-mechanical treatments arise from quantum-mechanical interference oscillations. These are typical for tunneling barriers in an applied field and for scattering by an oscillating potential. Received: 3 November 1999 / Published online: 30 June 2000     

Low-frequency strong-field ionization and excitation of hydrogen atom

The dynamics of hydrogen atom in the presence of a strong radiation field of the titanium-sapphire laser is studied for the Keldysh parameters γ ≥ 1 and γ ≤ 1. It is demonstrated that the ionization is supplemented with the effective population of the excited states with the principal quantum numbers n = 5–10 in the entire range of variation in the Keldysh parameter. The population of the excited Rydberg states can be interpreted as a consequence of the multiphoton resonance involving the initial 1s state and a group of excited states in the vicinity of the continuum boundary with the simultaneous repopulation of these states by Λ-type Raman transitions under the action of the laser field. The resulting coherent Rydberg packet appears to be stable with respect to ionization, so that the ionization of the atomic system in the presence of strong electromagnetic field is suppressed. Physical reasons for the stabilization are discussed. An interpretation of the effective population of the Rydberg states in the recent experiments on the ionization of atomic helium by the titanium-sapphire laser is proposed.     

Extracting generalized multiphoton ionization cross-sections from nonperturbative time-dependent calculations: An application in positronium

Ab initio time-dependent (TD) calculations of the behavior of positronium (Ps) under strong subpicosecond laser pulses are presented. The results are compared with results in H through scaling. It is found that a substantial amount of the population can be found in excited states after the pulse. In the perturbative regime, generalized multiphoton ionization cross-sections are extracted from the results of the time-dependent calculations. The generalized cross-sections are used to predict the response of Ps to nanosecond laser pulses at wavelengths of current experimental interest. Beyond the application to Ps, the generality of the method for extracting generalized cross-sections from TD nonperturbative calculations is discussed. Received 8 June 1999     

Multiphoton double ionization of Ar in intense extreme ultraviolet laser fields studied by shot-by-shot photoelectron spectroscopy

Photoelectron spectroscopy has been performed to study the multiphoton double ionization of Ar in an intense extreme ultraviolet laser field (hν ～ 21 eV, ～ 5 TW/cm2), by using a free electron laser (FEL). Three distinct peaks identified in the observed photoelectron spectra clearly show that the double ionization proceeds sequentially via the formation of Ar(+): Ar+hν→Ar (+) + e? and Ar2(+) + 2hν→Ar(+) + e?. Shot-by-shot recording of the photoelectron spectra allows simultaneous monitoring of FEL spectrum and the multiphoton process for each FEL pulse, revealing that the two-photon ionization from Ar(+) is significantly enhanced by intermediate resonances in Ar(+).