Laser-induced nonsequential double ionization: kinematic constraints for the recollision-excitation-tunneling mechanism

Abstract

We investigate the physical processes in which an electron, upon return to its parent ion, promotes a second electron to an excited state, from which it subsequently tunnels. Employing the strong-field approximation and saddle-point methods, we perform a detailed analysis of the dynamics of the two electrons, in terms of quantum orbits, and delimit constraints for their momentum components parallel to the laser-field polarization. The kinetic energy of the first electron, upon return, exhibits a cutoff slightly lower than $10U_p$, where $U_p$ is the ponderomotive energy, as in rescattered above-threshold ionization (ATI). The second electron leaves the excited state in a direct ATI-like process, with the maximal energy of $2U_p$. We also compute electron-momentum distributions, whose maxima agree with our estimates and with other methods.

13 pages, 4 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Electron-electron dynamics in laser-induced nonsequential double ionization
• Recoil collisions as a portal to field assisted ionization at near-UV frequencies in the Strong Field Double Ionization of Helium
• Quantum model for double ionization of atoms in strong laser fields
• Quantum interference in laser-induced nonsequential double ionization in diatomic molecules: the role of alignment and orbital symmetry
• Two-electron ionization in strong laser fields below intensity threshold: signatures of attosecond timing in correlated spectra

Cited by in corpus (15)

• Controlling Below-Threshold Nonsequential Double Ionization via Quantum Interference
• Entanglement of Orbital Angular Momentum in Non-Sequential Double Ionization
• Quantum Interference in Time-Delayed Nonsequential Double Ionization
• Time-delayed nonsequential double ionization with few-cycle laser pulses: importance of the carrier-envelope phase
• Causality and quantum interference in time-delayed laser-induced nonsequential double ionization
• Temporal and spatial interference in molecular above-threshold ionization with elliptically polarized fields
• Non-sequential double ionization below laser-intensity threshold: Anticorrelation of electrons without excitation of parent ion
• Excitation, two-center interference and the orbital geometry in laser-induced nonsequential double ionization of diatomic molecules
• Detangling the quantum tapestry of intra-channel interference in below-threshold nonsequential double ionization with few-cycle laser pulses
• Double ionization of a three-electron atom: Spin correlation effects
• Strong-field triple ionization of atoms with $p^3$ valence shell
• Polarization in Strong-Field Ionization of Excited Helium
• Quantum Estimation in Strong Fields: in situ ponderomotive sensing
• Applications of Adiabatic Approximation to One- and Two-electron Phenomena in Strong Laser Fields
• Unravelling inter-channel quantum interference in below-threshold nonsequential double ionization with statistical measures