Reaction Dynamics in Double Ionization of Helium by Electron Impact

We present theoretical fully differential cross sections (FDCS) for double ionization of helium by 500 eV and 2 keV electron impact. Contributions from various reaction mechanisms to the FDCS were calculated separately and compared to experimental data. Our theoretical methods are based on the first Born approximation. Higher-order effects are incorporated using the Monte Carlo event generator technique. Earlier, we successfully applied this approach to double ionization by ion impact, and in the work reported here it is extended to electron impact. We demonstrate that at 500 eV impact energy, double ionization is dominated by higher-order mechanisms. Even at 2 keV, double ionization does not predominantly proceed through a pure first-order process

Double Ionization of Helium by Highly-Charged-Ion Impact Analyzed within the Frozen-Correlation Approximation

We apply the frozen-correlation approximation (FCA) to analyze double ionization of helium by energetic highly charged ions. In this model the double ionization amplitude is represented in terms of single ionization amplitudes, which we evaluate within the continuum distorted wave-eikonal initial state (CDW-EIS) approach. Correlation effects are incorporated in the initial and final states, but are neglected during the time the collision process takes place. We implement the FCA using the Monte Carlo event generator technique, which allows us to generate theoretical event files and to compare theory and experiment using the same analysis tools. The comparison with previous theoretical results and with experimental data demonstrates, on the one hand, the validity of our earlier simple models to account for higher-order mechanisms, and, on the other hand, the robustness of the FCA

Torsion in quantum field theory through time-loops on Dirac materials

Assuming dislocations could be meaningfully described by torsion, we propose here a scenario based on the role of time in the low-energy regime of two-dimensional Dirac materials, for which coupling of the fully antisymmetric component of the torsion with the emergent spinor is not necessarily zero. Appropriate inclusion of time is our proposal to overcome well-known geometrical obstructions to such a program, that stopped further research of this kind. In particular, our approach is based on the realization of an exotic $time-loop$, that could be seen as oscillating particle-hole pairs. Although this is a theoretical paper, we moved the first steps toward testing the realization of these scenarios, by envisaging $Gedankenexperiments$ on the interplay between an external electromagnetic field (to excite the pair particle-hole and realize the time-loops), and a suitable distribution of dislocations described as torsion (responsible for the measurable holonomy in the time-loop, hence a current). Our general analysis here establishes that we need to move to a nonlinear response regime. We then conclude by pointing to recent results from the interaction laser-graphene that could be used to look for manifestations of the torsion-induced holonomy of the time-loop, e.g., as specific patterns of suppression/generation of higher harmonics.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure

Controlling polarization of attosecond pulses with plasmonic-enhanced bichromatic counter-rotating circularly polarized fields

The use of bichromatic counter-rotating laser field is known to generate high-order harmonics with non-zero ellipticity. By combining such laser field with a plasmonic-enhanced spatially inhomogeneous field, we propose a way to influence the sub-cycle dynamics of the high-harmonic generation process. Using the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schr{\"o}dinger equation combined with classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations, we show that the change of the direction and the strength of the plasmonic field selectively enhances or suppresses certain recombining electron trajectories. This in turn modifies the ellipticity of the emitted attosecond pulses

Wannier-Bloch approach to localization in high harmonics generation in solids

Emission of high-order harmonics from solids provides a new avenue in attosecond science. On one hand, it allows to investigate fundamental processes of the non-linear response of electrons driven by a strong laser pulse in a periodic crystal lattice. On the other hand, it opens new paths toward efficient attosecond pulse generation, novel imaging of electronic wave functions, and enhancement of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) intensity. A key feature of HHG in a solid (as compared to the well-understood phenomena of HHG in an atomic gas) is the delocalization of the process, whereby an electron ionized from one site in the periodic lattice may recombine with any other. Here, we develop an analytic model, based on the localized Wannier wave functions in the valence band and delocalized Bloch functions in the conduction band. This Wannier-Bloch approach assesses the contributions of individual lattice sites to the HHG process, and hence addresses precisely the question of localization of harmonic emission in solids. We apply this model to investigate HHG in a ZnO crystal for two different orientations, corresponding to wider and narrower valence and conduction bands, respectively. Interestingly, for narrower bands, the HHG process shows significant localization, similar to harmonic generation in atoms. For all cases, the delocalized contributions to HHG emission are highest near the band-gap energy. Our results pave the way to controlling localized contributions to HHG in a solid crystal, with hard to overestimate implications for the emerging area of atto-nanoscience