Non-dipole recollision-gated double ionization and observable effects

Abstract

Using a three-dimensional semiclassical model, we study double ionization for strongly-driven He fully accounting for magnetic field effects. For linearly and slightly elliptically polarized laser fields, we show that recollisions and the magnetic field combined act as a gate. This gate favors more transverse - with respect to the electric field - initial momenta of the tunneling electron that are opposite to the propagation direction of the laser field. In the absence of non-dipole effects, the transverse initial momentum is symmetric with respect to zero. We find that this asymmetry in the transverse initial momentum gives rise to an asymmetry in a double ionization observable. Finally, we show that this asymmetry in the transverse initial momentum of the tunneling electron accounts for a recently-reported unexpectedly large average sum of the electron momenta parallel to the propagation direction of the laser field.

Amended the focus of the paper and discussion. 9 pages, 7 figures

References in corpus (5)

• Breakdown of the Dipole Approximation in Strong-Field Ionization
• Partitioning of the linear photon momentum in multiphoton ionization
• The tunneling model of laser-induced ionization and its failure at low frequencies
• Recoil collisions as a portal to field assisted ionization at near-UV frequencies in the Strong Field Double Ionization of Helium
• Recollision as a probe of magnetic field effects in non-sequential double ionization

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Magnetic fields alter tunneling in strong-field ionization
• Singularity in electron-core potential as a gateway to accurate multi-electron ionization spectra in strongly driven atoms
• Signatures of magnetic field effects in non-sequential double ionization manifesting as back-scattering for molecules versus forward-scattering for atoms