Probing single-photon ionization on the attosecond time scale

We study photoionization of argon atoms excited by attosecond pulses using an interferometric measurement technique. We measure the difference in time delays between electrons emitted from the $3s^2$ and from the $3p^6$ shell, at different excitation energies ranging from 32 to 42 eV. The determination of single photoemission time delays requires to take into account the measurement process, involving the interaction with a probing infrared field. This contribution can be estimated using an universal formula and is found to account for a substantial fraction of the measured delay.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, under consideratio

Intensity Dependence of Laser-Assisted Attosecond Photoionization Spectra

We study experimentally the influence of the intensity of the infrared (IR) probe field on attosecond pulse train (APT) phase measurements performed with the RABITT method (Reconstruction of Attosecond Beating by Interference in Two-Photon Transitions). We find that if a strong IR field is applied, the attosecond pulses will appear to have lower-than-actual chirp rates. We also observe the onset of the streaking regime in the breakdown of the weak-field RABITT conditions. We perform a Fourier-analysis of harmonic and sideband continuum states and show that the mutual phase relation of the harmonics can be extracted from higher Fourier components.Comment: preprint to article in Laser Physics Nikolai B. Delone memorial issue 11 pages, 9 figures, published online 15 July 200

Two-photon double ionization of neon using an intense attosecond pulse train

We present the first demonstration of two-photon double ionization of neon using an intense extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulse train (APT) in a photon energy regime where both direct and sequential mechanisms are allowed. For an APT generated through high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in argon we achieve a total pulse energy close to 1 $\mu$J, a central energy of 35 eV and a total bandwidth of $\sim30$ eV. The APT is focused by broadband optics in a neon gas target to an intensity of $3\cdot10^{12}$W$\cdot$cm$^{-2}$. By tuning the photon energy across the threshold for the sequential process the double ionization signal can be turned on and off, indicating that the two-photon double ionization predominantly occurs through a sequential process. The demonstrated performance opens up possibilities for future XUV-XUV pump-probe experiments with attosecond temporal resolution in a photon energy range where it is possible to unravel the dynamics behind direct vs. sequential double ionization and the associated electron correlation effects

Extreme ultraviolet interferometry measurements with high-order harmonics

We demonstrate that high-order harmonics generated by short, intense laser pulses in gases provide an interesting radiation source for extreme ultraviolet interferometry, since they are tunable, coherent, of short pulse duration, and simple to manipulate. Harmonics from the 9th to the 15th are used to measure the thickness of an aluminum layer. The 11th harmonic is used to determine the spatial distribution of the electron density of a plasma produced by a 300-ps laser. Electronic densities higher than 2-10(20) electrons/cm(3) are measured. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America. OCIS codes: 190.0190, 190.4160, 190.7110, 120.3180, 140.7240, 350.4500

Isovector Giant Dipole Resonance of Stable Nuclei in a Consistent Relativistic Random Phase Approximation

A fully consistent relativistic random phase approximation is applied to study the systematic behavior of the isovector giant dipole resonance of nuclei along the $\beta$-stability line in order to test the effective Lagrangians recently developed. The centroid energies of response functions of the isovector giant dipole resonance for stable nuclei are compared with the corresponding experimental data and the good agreement is obtained. It is found that the effective Lagrangian with an appropriate nuclear symmetry energy, which can well describe the ground state properties of nuclei, could also reproduce the isovector giant dipole resonance of nuclei along the $\beta$-stability line.Comment: 4 pages, 1 Postscript figure, to be submitted to Chin.Phys.Let

Photoemission time-delay measurements and calculations close to the 3s ionization minimum in Ar

We present experimental measurements and theoretical calculations of photoionization time delays from the $3s$ and $3p$ shells in Ar in the photon energy range of 32-42 eV. The experimental measurements are performed by interferometry using attosecond pulse trains and the infrared laser used for their generation. The theoretical approach includes intershell correlation effects between the 3s and 3p shells within the framework of the random phase approximation with exchange (RPAE). The connection between single-photon ionization and the two-color two-photon ionization process used in the measurement is established using the recently developed asymptotic approximation for the complex transition amplitudes of laser-assisted photoionization. We compare and discuss the theoretical and experimental results especially in the region where strong intershell correlations in the 3s to kp channel lead to an induced "Cooper" minimum in the 3s ionization cross-section.Comment: submitted to PR

Attosecond timing of electron emission from a molecular shape resonance

Shape resonances in physics and chemistry arise from the spatial confinement of a particle by a potential barrier. In molecular photoionization, these barriers prevent the electron from escaping instantaneously, so that nuclei may move and modify the potential, thereby affecting the ionization process. By using an attosecond two-color interferometric approach in combination with high spectral resolution, we have captured the changes induced by the nuclear motion on the centrifugal barrier that sustains the well-known shape resonance in valence-ionized N$_2$. We show that despite the nuclear motion altering the bond length by only $2\%$, which leads to tiny changes in the potential barrier, the corresponding change in the ionization time can be as large as $200$ attoseconds. This result poses limits to the concept of instantaneous electronic transitions in molecules, which is at the basis of the Franck-Condon principle of molecular spectroscopy.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figure