Delay in atomic photoionization

Abstract

We analyze the time delay between emission of photoelectrons from the outer valence $ns$ and $np$ sub-shells in noble gas atoms following absorption of an attosecond XUV pulse. By solving the time dependent Schrödinger equation and carefully examining the time evolution of the photoelectron wave packet, we establish the apparent "time zero" when the photoelectron leaves the atom. Various processes such as elastic scattering of the photoelectron on the parent ion and many-electron correlation affect the quantum phase of the dipole transition matrix element, the energy dependence of which defines the emission timing. This qualitatively explains the time delay between photoemission from the $2s$ and $2p$ sub-shells of Ne as determined experimentally by attosecond streaking [{\em Science} {\bf 328}, 1658 (2010)]. However, with our extensive numerical modeling, we were only able to account for less than a half of the measured time delay of $21\pm 5$ as. We argue that the XUV pulse alone cannot produce such a large time delay and it is the streaking IR field that is most likely responsible for this effect.

5 pages, 2 figures

Cited by in corpus (12)

• Attosecond delays in molecular photoionization
• Under-the-barrier dynamics in laser-induced relativistic tunneling
• Time delay between photoemission from the 2p and 2s subshells of Neon
• Study of attosecond delays using perturbation diagrams and exterior complex scaling
• Calculation of photoelectron spectra within the time-dependent configuration interaction singles scheme
• Angle-resolved time delay in photoemission
• Hole dynamics and spin currents after ionization in strong circularly polarized laser fields
• Optical vortices discern attosecond time delay in electron emission from magnetic sublevels
• Attosecond photoionization dynamics in neon
• Probing time-ordering in two-photon double ionization of helium on the attosecond time scale
• Attosecond time delay in the photoionization of Mn in the region of the $3p\to 3d$ giant resonance
• Attoclock reveals geometry for laser-induced tunneling