Effect of electron excitation in nonsequential double ionization by intense laser fields

We study the double ionization process of atoms in intense laser fields. The momentum distributions of the correlated electrons are calculated. Contrary to the general expectation, we show an increasing proportion of the electrons ionized via excitation with the increasing laser intensity. These electrons generally have small energy thus they concentratedly distribute on the central region of the momentum diagram. Consequently, the central part of the momentum diagram becomes more notable in higher intensity laser fields. Further study suggests that this phenomenon is general in double ionization.     

Equivalent electron correlations in nonsequential double ionization of noble atoms

Electron correlation is encoded directly in the distribution of the energetic electrons produced in a recollision-impact double ionization process, and varies with the laser field and the target atoms. In order to get equivalent electron correlation effects, one should enlarge the laser intensity cubically and the laser frequency linearly in proportion to the second ionization potentials of the target atoms. The physical mechanism behind the transform is to keep the ponderomotive parameter unchanged when the laser frequency is enlarged.