Dissecting strong-field excitation dynamics with atomic-momentum spectroscopy

Abstract

Observation of internal quantum dynamics relies on correlations between the system being observed and the measurement apparatus. We propose using the center-of-mass (c.m.) degrees of freedom of atoms and molecules as a "built-in" monitoring device for observing their internal dynamics in non-perturbative laser fields. We illustrate the idea on the simplest model system - the hydrogen atom in an intense, tightly-focused infrared laser beam. To this end, we develop a numerically-tractable, quantum-mechanical treatment of correlations between internal and c.m. dynamics. We show that the transverse momentum records the time excited states experience the field, allowing femtosecond reconstruction of the strong-field excitation process. The ground state becomes weak-field seeking, an unambiguous and long sought-for signature of the Kramers-Henneberger regime.

References in corpus (7)

• Breakdown of the Dipole Approximation in Strong-Field Ionization
• Partitioning of the linear photon momentum in multiphoton ionization
• Under-the-barrier dynamics in laser-induced relativistic tunneling
• Magnetic fields alter tunneling in strong-field ionization
• Formation of very low energy states crossing the ionization threshold of argon atoms in strong mid-infrared fields
• The effect of dressing on high-order harmonic generation in vibrating H${}_2$ molecules
• Intensity dependence of Rydberg states

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Quantum-quasiclassical analysis of center-of-mass nonseparability in hydrogen atom stimulated by strong laser fields
• Acceleration and twisting of neutral atoms by strong elliptically polarized short-wavelength laser pulses
• State distinguishability under weak measurement and post-selection: A unified system and device perspective