No Arabic abstract
We perform high-resolution measurements of momentum distribution on Rb$^{n+}$ recoil ions up to charge state $n=4$, where laser-cooled rubidium atoms are ionized by femtosecond elliptically polarized lasers with the pulse duration of 35 fs and the intensity of 3.3$times$10$^{15}$ W/cm$^2$ in the over-barrier ionization (OBI) regime. The momentum distributions of the recoil ions are found to exhibit multi-band structures as the ellipticity varies from the linear to circular polarizations. The origin of these band structures can be explained quantitatively by the classical OBI model and dedicated classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations with Heisenberg potential. Specifically, with back analysis of the classical trajectories, we reveal the ionization time and the OBI geometry of the sequentially released electrons, disentangling the mechanisms behind the tilted angle of the band structures. These results indicate that the classical treatment can describe the strong-field multiple ionization processes of alkali atoms.
Employing recent developed magneto-optical trap recoil ion momentum spectroscopy (MOTRIMS) combining cold atom, strong laser pulse, and ultrafast technologies, we study momentum distributions of the multiply ionized cold rubidium (Rb) induced by the elliptically polarized laser pulses (35 fs, $1.3 times 10^{15}$ W/cm$^2$). The complete vector momenta of Rbn+ ions up to charge state n = 4 are recorded with extremely high resolution (0.12 a.u. for Rb$^+$). Variations of characteristic multi-bands displayed in momentum distributions, as the ellipticity varies from the linear to circular polarization, are interpreted qualitatively with the classical over-barrier ionization model. Present momentum spectroscopy of cold heavy alkali atoms presents novel strong-field phenomena beyond the noble gases.
We describe first-principles in-plane calculations of non-sequential triple ionization (NSTI) of atoms in a linearly polarized intense laser pulse. In a fully classically correlated description, all three electrons respond dynamically to the nuclear attraction, the pairwise e-e repulsions and the laser force throughout the duration of a 780nm laser pulse. Nonsequential ejection is shown to occur in a multi-electron, possibly multi-cycle and multi-dimensional, rescattering sequence that is coordinated by a number of sharp transverse recollimation impacts.
When atoms or molecules are exposed to strong short-pulse infrared radiation, ionization as well as frustrated tunneling ionization (FTI) can occur, in which a portion of the almost ionized electrons recombine into the initial ground or an excited bound state. We analyze the ellipticity dependence of the relative signals that are predicted in a single-active electron approximation (SAE), the validity of which is checked against a parameter-free multi-electron hbox{$R$-matrix} (close-coupling) with time dependence approach. We find good agreement between the results from both models, thereby providing confidence in the SAE model potential to treat the process of interest. Comparison of the relative excitation probabilities found in our numerical calculations with the predictions of Landsman {it et al.} (New Journal of Physics {bf 15} (2013) 013001) and Zhao {it et al.} (Optics Express {bf 27} (2019) 21689) reveals good agreement with the former for short pulses. For longer pulses, the ellipticity dependence becomes wider than that obtained from the Landsman {it et al.} formula, but we do not obtain the increase compared to linearly polarized radiation predicted by Zhao {it et al.}
A new pathway of strong laser field induced ionization of an atom is identified which is based on recollisions under the tunneling barrier. With an amended strong field approximation, the interference of the direct and the under-the-barrier recolliding quantum orbits are shown to induce a measurable shift of the peak of the photoelectron momentum distribution. The scaling of the momentum shift is derived relating the momentum shift to the tunneling delay time according to the Wigner concept. This allows to extend the Wigner concept for the quasistatic tunneling time delay into the nonadiabatic domain. The obtained corrections to photoelectron momentum distributions are also relevant for state-of-the-art accuracy of strong field photoelectron spectrograms in general.
Using TRIUMFs off-line laser ion source test stand with a system of tunable titanium sapphire lasers, the polarization dependence of laser resonance ionization has been investigated using beryllium. A significant polarization dependence was observed for the excitation path $^1$S$_0$$rightarrow$$^1$P$^{circ}_1$$rightarrow$$^1$S$_0$, which are typical transitions for alkaline and alkaline-like elements. This polarization dependence was further verified on Be radioactive isotopes at TRIUMFs isotope separator and accelerator facility (ISAC). Laser polarization was proven to be an important parameter in operating resonance ionization laser ion sources (RILIS). The polarization spectroscopy was preformed off-line both on the 2p$^2$ $^1$S$_0$ autoionizing (AI) state and high-$n$ Rydberg states of the $2sns$ $^1S_0$ and $2snd$ $^1D_2$ series. The energy of the 2p$^2$ $^1$S$_0$ AI state and ionization potential (IP) of beryllium were extracted as 76167(6)~cm$^{-1}$ and 75192.59(3)~cm$^{-1}$. Polarization spectroscopy can be used to determine the $J$ values of newly found states in in-source spectroscopy of the complex/radioactive alkaline-like elements such as Ra, Sm, Yb, Pu and No.