Charging dynamics of dopants in helium nanoplasmas

Abstract

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the charging dynamics of helium nanodroplets doped with atoms of different species and irradiated by intense near-infrared (NIR) laser pulses (<10^15 Wcm-2). In particular, we elucidate the interplay of dopant ionization inducing the ignition of a helium nanoplasma, and the charging of the dopant atoms driven by the ionized helium host. Most efficient nanoplasma ignition and charging is found when doping helium droplets with xenon atoms, in which case high charge states both of helium (He2+) and of xenon (Xe^21+) are detected. In contrast, only low charge states of helium and dopants are measured when doping with potassium and calcium atoms. Classical molecular dynamics simulations which include focal averaging generally reproduce the experimental results and provide detailed insights into the correlated charging dynamics of guest and host clusters.

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Cold Physics and Chemistry: Collisions, Ionization and Reactions inside Helium Nanodroplets Close to Zero K
• Long-lasting XUV activation of helium nanodroplets for avalanche ionization
• A compact design for velocity-map imaging energetic electrons and ions
• Single-shot electron imaging of dopant-induced nanoplasmas
• Dopant-induced ignition of helium nanoplasmas -- a mechanistic study