Ionization Mechanisms and Photoelectron Distributions from an Ultrastrong Laser Field

 

Anthony Dominick DiChiara

University of Delaware

Abstract: Modern ultrafast lasers are capable of producing the most intense radiation known to man.  Atoms exposed to such violent fields are highly ionized with the photo-ionization of 10 or 12 electrons.  The laser electric field can accelerate these photoelectrons to hundreds of kilovolts so that v/c is no longer zero.  Consequently, the laser magnetic field affects the continuum dynamics of photoelectrons.  To date few experiments have probed the ultrastrong field regime of atomic interactions and theoretical efforts are relatively sparse.  We present experimental data of the total ion yields for the noble gases subjected to an ultrastrong field and compare them to a semiclassical model.  We also show recent work on the results from of an electron spectrometer for relativistic photoelectron detection.