Nonlinear photoionization of transparent solids: a nonperturbative theory obeying selection rules

Abstract

We provide a nonperturbative theory for photoionization of transparent solids. By applying a particular steepest-descent method, we derive analytical expressions for the photoionization rate within the two-band structure model, which consistently account for the $selection$ $rules$ related to the parity of the number of absorbed photons ($odd$ or $even$). We demonstrate the crucial role of the interference of the transition amplitudes (saddle-points), which in the semi-classical limit, can be interpreted in terms of interfering quantum trajectories. Keldysh's foundational work of laser physics [Sov. Phys. JETP 20, 1307 (1965)] disregarded this interference, resulting in the violation of $selection$ $rules$. We provide an improved Keldysh photoionization theory and show its excellent agreement with measurements for the frequency dependence of the two-photon absorption and nonlinear refractive index coefficients in dielectrics.

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Cited by in corpus (7)

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• Role of intra-band transitions in photo-carrier generation
• Delayed-rate equations model for femtosecond laser-induced breakdown in dielectrics
• Photoionization and transient Wannier-Stark ladder in silicon: First principle simulations versus Keldysh theory
• Non-Markovian pure dephasing in a dielectric excited by a few-cycle laser pulse
• Enhanced energy deposition and carrier generation in silicon induced by two-color intense femtosecond laser pulses