Frustrated tunnel ionization in the few-cycle regime

ORAL

Abstract

Frustrated Tunnel Ionization (FTI) is a strong-field phenomenon where an ultrashort laser pulse excites a target atom, leaving it in a Rydberg state~[Nubbemeyer, T., et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 101(23): 233001 (2008)]. This occurs after a tunneling ionization event when the dominant ionization channel is `frustrated' by the atomic Coulomb potential. Studying the mechanism behind FTI facilitates our understanding of atomic and molecular strong-field dynamics; e.g. FTI is observed in time-resolved ionization dynamics [Sabbar, M., et al. Nat. Phys. 13(5): 472-478 (2017)] and delayed ionization~[Larimian, S., et al. Phys. Rev. A 94(3) (2016)], and the fragmentation of molecules~[Manschwetus, B., et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 102(11): 113002 (2009)]. Here we compare our experimental and theoretical FTI yields for few- and multi-cycle pulses. We find that for the same pulse energy more FTI is generated with few-cycle pulses.

*This project is supported under the ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities scheme (project LE160100027). B.d. is funded by the US NSF (grants no. PHY-1402899 and PHY-1708108). D.C. is supported by an Australian Government RTP Scholarship.

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Authors

  • R.D. Glover

    • Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Australia

  • D. Chetty

    • Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Australia

  • A.J. Palmer

    • Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Australia

  • B.A. deHarak

    • Illinois Wesleyan University, USA

  • J.L. Holdsworth

    • School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia

  • M.A. Dakka

    • Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and School of Physical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Australia

  • A.N. Luiten

    • Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and School of Physical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Australia

  • P.S. Light

    • Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and School of Physical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Australia

  • I.V. Litvinyuk

    • Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Australia

  • R.T. Sang

    • Centre for Quantum Dynamics, Griffith University, Australia