Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Transition from strong-field sequential to nonsequential double ionization at near-infrared wavelengths and low intensities

  • Published:
Optical and Quantum Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Within a quantum-mechanical model, we investigate strong-field double ionization of a model helium atom by near-infrared, linearly polarized laser pulses at intensities far below the recollision threshold. The quantum simulations show a clear mechanism change from sequential to nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) as the laser intensity increases. For NSDI, the two-electron correlated momentum distribution exhibits a strong final-state Coulomb repulsion effect for high-energy photoelectrons, but absent for low-energy photoelectrons. This repulsion effect is ascribed to field double ionization from doubly-excited states populated by recollision of the first ionized electron when it returns to the parent ion. Such recollision-induced excited states are absent at ultraviolet wavelengths due to the very low returning kinetic energies, resulting to the absence of final-state repulsion effect in NSDI.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Corkum, P.B.: Plasma perspective on strong-field multiphoton ionization. Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1994–1997 (1993)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Corkum, P.B., Burnett, N.H., Brunel, F.: Above-threshold ionization in the long-wavelength limit. Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 1259–1262 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Dundas, D., Taylor, K.T., Parker, J.S., Smyth, E.S.: Double-ionization dynamics of laser-driven helium. J. Phys. B 32, L231–L238 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Faisal, F.H.M.: Multiple absorption of laser photons by atoms. J. Phys. B 6, L89–L92 (1973)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Feit, M.D., Fleck Jr., J.A., Steiger, A.: Solution of the Schrödinger equation by a spectral method. J. Comput. Phys. 47, 412–433 (1982)

    Article  ADS  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Feuerstein, B., Moshammer, R., Fischer, D., Dorn, A., Schröter, C.D., Deipenwisch, J., Crespo Lopez-Urrutia, J.R., Höhr, C., Neumayer, P., Ullrich, J., Rottke, H., Trump, C., Wittmann, M., Korn, G., Sandner, W.: Separation of recollision mechanisms in nonsequential strong field double ionization of Ar: the role of excitation tunneling. Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 043003 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Figueira de Morisson Faria, C., Schomerus, H., Liu, X., Becker, W.: Electron-electron dynamics in laser-induced nonsequential double ionization. Phys. Rev. A 69, 043405 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Haan, S.L., Breen, L., Karim, A., Eberly, J.H.: Variable time lag and backward ejection in full-dimensional analysis of strong-field double ionization. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 103008 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • He, M., Zhou, Y., Li, Y., Li, M., Lu, P.: Revealing the target structure information encoded in strong-field photoelectron hologram. Opt. Quant. Electron. 49(6), 232 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He, L., Zhang, Q., Lan, P., Cao, W., Zhu, X., Zhai, C., Wang, F., Shi, W., Li, M., Bian, X.B., Lu, P.: Monitoring ultrafast vibrational dynamics of isotopic molecules with frequency modulation of high-order harmonics. Nature Commun. 9(1), 1108 (2018a)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • He, M., Li, Y., Zhou, Y., Li, M., Cao, W., Lu, P.: Direct visualization of valence electron motion using strong-field photoelectron holography. Phys. Rev. Lett. 120(13), 133204 (2018b)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, Z., Rezvani, S.A., Zhang, Q., Lu, P.: Octave-spanning energy-scalable CEP-stabilized pulses from a dual-chirped noncollinear optical parametric amplifier. Opt. Quantum Electron. 49(12), 392 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hong, Z., Zhang, Q., Rezvani, S.A., Lan, P., Lu, P.: Tunable few-cycle pulses from a dual-chirped optical parametric amplifier pumped by broadband laser. Opt. Laser Technol. 98, 169–177 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, H., Ke, S., Wang, B., Long, H., Wang, K., Lu, P.: Numerical study on plasmonic absorption enhancement by a rippled graphene sheet. J. Lightwave Technol. 35(2), 320–324 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Ke, S., Liu, J., Liu, Q., Zhao, D., Liu, W.: Strong absorption near exceptional points in plasmonic waveguide arrays. Opt. Quantum Electron. 50(8), 318 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keldysh, L.V.: Ionization in the field of a strong electromagnetic wave. Soviet Phys. JETP 20, 1307–1314 (1965)

    MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Lan, P., Ruhmann, M., He, L., Zhai, C., Wang, F., Zhu, X., Zhang, Q., Zhou, Y., Li, M., Lein, M., Lu, P.: Attosecond probing of nuclear dynamics with trajectory-resolved high-harmonic spectroscopy. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119(3), 033201 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Lappas, D.G., van Leeuwen, R.: Electron correlation effects in the double ionization of He. J. Phys. B 31, L249–L256 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lein, M., Gross, E.K.U., Engel, V.: Intense-field double ionization of Helium: identifying the mechanism. Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 4707–4710 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., Wang, Z., Li, F., Long, H.: Efficient generation of highly elliptically polarized attosecond pulses. Opt. Quant. Electron. 49(2), 73 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, L., Lan, P., Liu, X., He, L., Zhu, X., Mücke, O.D., Lu, P.: Method for direct observation of Bloch oscillations in semiconductors. Opt. Express 26(18), 23844–23853 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Liao, Q., Lu, P.: Energy correlation in above-threshold nonsequential double ionization at 800 nm. Phys. Rev. A 82, 021403(R) (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Liao, Q., Lu, P., Zhang, Q., Hong, W., Yang, Z.: Phase-dependent nonsequential double ionization by few-cycle laser pulses. J. Phys. B 41, 125601 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Liao, Q., Zhou, Y., Huang, C., Lu, P.: Multiphoton Rabi oscillations of correlated electrons in strong-field nonsequential double ionization. New J. Phys. 14, 013001 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Liao, Q., Winney, A.H., Lee, S.K., Lin, Y., Adhikari, P., Li, W.: Coulomb-repulsion-assisted double ionization from doubly excited states of argon. Phys. Rev. A 96, 023401 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Q.J., Ke, S.L., Liu, W.W.: Mode conversion and absorption in an optical waveguide under cascaded complex modulations. Opt. Quant. Electron. 50(9), 356 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y., Tschuch, S., Rudenko, A., Dürr, M., Siegel, M., Morgner, U., Moshammer, R., Ullrich, J.: Strong-field double ionization of Ar below the recollision threshold. Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 053001 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, X., Li, M., Zhou, Y., Lu, P.: Nonsequential double ionization of Xe by mid-infrared laser pulses. Opt. Quantum Electron. 49, 170 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohideen, U., Sher, M.H., Tom, H.W.K., Aumiller, G.D., Wood, O.R., Freeman, R.R., Boker, J., Bucksbaum, P.H.: High intensity above-threshold ionization of He. Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 509–512 (1993)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, J.S., Moore, L.R., Meharg, K.J., Dundas, D., Taylor, K.T.: Double-electron above threshold ionization of helium. J. Phys. B 34, L69–L78 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Parker, J.S., Doherty, J.S., Taylor, K.T., Schultz, K.D., Blaga, C.I., DiMauro, L.F.: High-energy cutoff in the spectrum of strong-field nonsequential double ionization. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 133001 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Qin, M., Zhu, X.: Molecular orbital imaging for partially aligned molecules. Opt. Laser Technol. 87, 79–86 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Qin, C., Wang, B., Lu, P.: Frequency diffraction management through arbitrary engineering of photonics band structures. Opt. Express 26(20), 25721–25735 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Reiss, H.R.: Effect of an intense electromagnetic field on a weakly bound system. Phys. Rev. A 22, 1786–1813 (1980)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudenko, A., de Jesus, V.L.B., Ergler, Th., Zrost, K., Feuerstein, B., Schroter, C.D., Moshammer, R., Ullrich, J.: Correlated two-electron momentum spectra for strong-field nonsequential double ionization of He at 800 nm. Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 263003 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Staudte, A., Ruiz, C., Schöffler, M., Schössler, S., Zeidler, D., Weber, Th, Meckel, M., Villeneuve, D.M., Corkum, P.B., Becker, A., Dörner, R.: Binary and recoil collisions in strong field double ionization of helium. Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 263002 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Tan, J., Li, Y., Zhou, Y., He, M., Chen, Y., Li, M., Lu, P.: Identifying the contributions of multiple-returning recollision orbits in strong-field above-threshold ionization. Opt. Quant. Electron. 50(2), 57 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tong, A., Zhou, Y., Lu, P.: Bifurcation of ion momentum distributions in sequential double ionization by elliptically polarized laser pulses. Opt. Quantum Electron. 49, 77 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, B., Sheehy, B., DiMauro, L.F., Agostini, P., Schafer, K.J., Kulander, K.C.: Precision measurement of strong field double ionization of helium. Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 1227–1230 (1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z., Wang, B., Long, H., Wang, K., Lu, P.: Surface plasmonic lattice solitons in semi-infinite graphene sheet arrays. J. Lightwave Technol. 35(14), 2960–2965 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, F., Ke, S., Qin, C., Wang, B., Long, H., Wang, K., Lu, P.: Topological interface modes in graphene multilayer arrays. Opt. Laser Technol. 103, 272–278 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, Th, Giessen, H., Weckenbrock, M., Urbasch, G., Staudte, A., Spielberger, L., Jagutzki, O., Mergel, V., Vollmer, M., Dörner, R.: Correlated electron emission in multiphoton double ionization. Nature 405, 658–661 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan, H., He, L., Wang, F., Wang, B., Liu, W., Hong, Z.: Generation of isolated attosecond pulses in a multi-cycle inhomogeneous two-color field without CEP stabilization. Opt. Quant. Electron. 49(6), 214 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, D., Liu, W.W., Ke, S.L., Liu, Q.J.: Large lateral shift in complex dielectric multilayers with nearly parity-time symmetry. Opt. Quant. Electron. 50(8), 323 (2018)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Y., Liao, Q., Lu, P.: Mechanism for high-energy electrons in nonsequential double ionization below the recollision-excitation threshold. Phys. Rev. A 80, 023412 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Y., Tolstikhin, O.I., Morishita, T.: Near-forward rescattering photoelectron holography in strong-field ionization: extraction of the phase of the scattering amplitude. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116(17), 173001 (2016)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (11674257, 11604248); Program for Distinguished Middle-aged and Young Innovative Research Team in Higher Education of Hubei, China (No. T201806); Natural Science Foundation of Hubei (2014CFB578).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Optical Information Technology, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430205, China

    Kai Liu, Meiyan Qin & Qing Liao

  2. School of Physics and Electronic-information Engineering, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan, 432000, China

    Qianguang Li

Authors
  1. Kai Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Meiyan Qin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qianguang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qing Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qing Liao.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, K., Qin, M., Li, Q. et al. Transition from strong-field sequential to nonsequential double ionization at near-infrared wavelengths and low intensities. Opt Quant Electron 50, 364 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-018-1620-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-018-1620-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation