590 research outputs found
Tunneling Ionization Rates from Arbitrary Potential Wells
We present a practical numerical technique for calculating tunneling
ionization rates from arbitrary 1-D potential wells in the presence of a linear
external potential by determining the widths of the resonances in the spectral
density, rho(E), adiabatically connected to the field-free bound states. While
this technique applies to more general external potentials, we focus on the
ionization of electrons from atoms and molecules by DC electric fields, as this
has an important and immediate impact on the understanding of the multiphoton
ionization of molecules in strong laser fields.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, LaTe
Alignment dependent enhancement of the photo-electron cutoff for multi-photon ionization of molecules
The multiphoton ionization rate of molecules depends on the alignment of the
molecular axis with respect to the ionizing laser polarization. By studying
molecular frame photo-electron angular distributions from N, O and
benzene, we illustrate how the angle-dependent ionization rate affects the
photo-electron cutoff energy. We find alignment can enhance the high energy
cutoff of the photo-electron spectrum when probing along a nodal plane or when
ionization is otherwise suppressed. This is supported by calculations using a
tunneling model with a single ion state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Mapping the direction of electron ionization to phase delay between VUV and IR laser pulses
We theoretically demonstrate a one-to-one mapping between the direction of electron ionization and the phase delay between a linearly polarized vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and a circular infrared (IR) laser pulse. To achieve this, we use an ultrashort VUV pulse that defines the moment in time and space when an above-threshold electron is released in the IR pulse. The electron can then be accelerated to high velocities escaping in a direction completely determined by the phase delay between the two pulses. The dipole matrix element to transition from an initial bound state of the N2 molecule, considered in this work, to the continuum is obtained using quantum-mechanical techniques that involve computing accurate continuum molecular states. Following release of the electron in the IR pulse, we evolve classical trajectories, neglecting the Coulomb potential and accounting for quantum interference, to compute the distribution of the direction and magnitude of the final electron momentum. The concept we theoretically develop can be implemented to produce nanoscale ring currents that generate large magnetic fields
Annealing post-drawn polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers optimizes crystallinity and molecular alignment and enhances mechanical properties and drug release profiles
Post-drawn PCL nanofibers can be molecularly tuned to have a variety of mechanical properties and drug release profiles depending on the temperature and time of annealing, which has implications for regenerative medicine and drug delivery applications. Post-drawing polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers has previously been demonstrated to drastically increase their mechanical properties. Here the effects of annealing on post-drawn PCL nanofibers are characterized. It is shown that room temperature storage and in vivo temperatures increase crystallinity significantly on the order of weeks, and that high temperature annealing near melt significantly increases crystallinity and molecular orientation on the order of minutes. The kinetics of crystallization were assessed using an anneal and quench approach. High temperature annealing also increased the ultimate tensile strength and toughness of the fibers and changed the release profile of a model drug absorbed in PCL nanofibers from first-order to zero-order kinetics
Attosecond electron thermalization by laser-driven electron recollision in atoms
Nonsequential multiple ionization of atoms in intense laser fields is
initiated by a recollision between an electron, freed by tunneling, and its
parent ion. Following recollision, the initial electron shares its energy with
several bound electrons. We use a classical model based on rapid electron
thermalization to interpret recent experiments. For neon, good agreement with
the available data is obtained with an upper bound of 460 attoseconds for the
thermalization time.Comment: 5 pages revtex and 4 figures (eps files
Double Ionization by Strong Elliptically Polarized Laser Pulses
We join the tribute to Professor N.B. Delone in this memorial issue by
presenting the results of new calculations on the effects of ellipticity on
double ionization by short and strong near-optical laser pulses.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Professor N.B. Delone's memorial
issu
Mechanisms of two-color laser-induced field-free molecular orientation
Two mechanisms of two-color (\omega + 2\omega) laser-induced field-free
molecular orientation, based on the hyperpolarizability and ionization
depletion, are explored and compared. The CO molecule is used as a
computational example. While the hyperpolarizability mechanism generates small
amounts of orientation at intensities below the ionization threshold,
ionization depletion quickly becomes the dominant mechanism as soon as ionizing
intensities are reached. Only the ionization mechanism leads to substantial
orientation (e.g. on the order of || > 0.1). For intensities typical
of laser-induced molecular alignment and orientation experiments, the two
mechanism lead to robust, characteristic timings of the field-free orientation
wave-packet revivals relative to the the alignment revivals and the revival
time. The revival timings can be used to detect the active orientation
mechanism experimentally
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