130 research outputs found
Relativistic photoelectron spectra in the ionization of atoms by elliptically polarized light
Relativistic tunnel ionization of atoms by intense, elliptically polarized
light is considered. The relativistic version of the Landau-Dykhne formula is
employed. The general analytical expression is obtained for the relativistic
photoelectron spectra. The most probable angle of electron emission, the
angular distribution near this angle, the position of the maximum and the width
of the energy spectrum are calculated. In the weak field limit we obtain the
familiar non-relativistic results. For the case of circular polarization our
analytical results are in agreement with recent derivations of Krainov [V.P.
Krainov, J. Phys. B, {\bf 32}, 1607 (1999)].Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Physics
Relativistic semiclassical approach in strong-field nonlinear photoionization
Nonlinear relativistic ionization phenomena induced by a strong laser
radiation with elliptically polarization are considered. The starting point is
the classical relativistic action for a free electron moving in the
electromagnetic field created by a strong laser beam. The application of the
relativistic action to the classical barrier-suppression ionization is briefly
discussed. Further the relativistic version of the Landau-Dykhne formula is
employed to consider the semiclassical sub-barrier ionization. Simple
analytical expressions have been found for: (i) the rates of the strong-field
nonlinear ionization including relativistic initial and final state effects;
(ii) the most probable value of the components of the photoelectron final state
momentum; (iii) the most probable direction of photoelectron emission and (iv)
the distribution of the photoelectron momentum near its maximum value.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Simple proof of gauge invariance for the S-matrix element of strong-field photoionization
The relationship between the length gauge (LG) and the velocity gauge (VG)
exact forms of the photoionization probability amplitude is considered. Our
motivation for this paper comes from applications of the Keldysh-Faisal-Reiss
(KFR) theory, which describes atoms (or ions) in a strong laser field (in the
nonrelativistic approach, in the dipole approximation). On the faith of a
certain widely-accepted assumption, we present a simple proof that the
well-known LG form of the exact photoionization (or photodetachment)
probability amplitude is indeed the gauge-invariant result. In contrast, to
obtain the VG form of this probability amplitude, one has to either (i) neglect
the well-known Goeppert-Mayer exponential factor (which assures gauge
invariance) during all the time evolution of the ionized electron or (ii) put
some conditions on the vector potential of the laser field.Comment: The paper was initially submitted (in a previous version) on 16
October 2006 to J. Phys. A and rejected. This is the extended version (with 2
figures), which is identical to the paper published online on 12 December
2007 in Physica Script
Exact field ionization rates in the barrier suppression-regime from numerical TDSE calculations
Numerically determined ionization rates for the field ionization of atomic
hydrogen in strong and short laser pulses are presented. The laser pulse
intensity reaches the so-called "barrier suppression ionization" regime where
field ionization occurs within a few half laser cycles. Comparison of our
numerical results with analytical theories frequently used shows poor
agreement. An empirical formula for the "barrier suppression ionization"-rate
is presented. This rate reproduces very well the course of the numerically
determined ground state populations for laser pulses with different length,
shape, amplitude, and frequency.
Number(s): 32.80.RmComment: Enlarged and newly revised version, 22 pages (REVTeX) + 8 figures in
ps-format, submitted for publication to Physical Review A, WWW:
http://www.physik.tu-darmstadt.de/tqe
On the absence of bound-state stabilization through short ultra-intense fields
We address the question of whether atomic bound states begin to stabilize in
the short ultra-intense field limit. We provide a general theory of ionization
probability and investigate its gauge invariance. For a wide range of
potentials we find an upper and lower bound by non-perturbative methods, which
clearly exclude the possibility that the ultra intense field might have a
stabilizing effect on the atom. For short pulses we find almost complete
ionization as the field strength increases.Comment: 34 pages Late
On the Influence of Pulse Shapes on Ionization Probability
We investigate analytical expressions for the upper and lower bounds for the
ionization probability through ultra-intense shortly pulsed laser radiation. We
take several different pulse shapes into account, including in particular those
with a smooth adiabatic turn-on and turn-off. For all situations for which our
bounds are applicable we do not find any evidence for bound-state
stabilization.Comment: 21 pages LateX, 10 figure
Ionization Probabilities through ultra-intense Fields in the extreme Limit
We continue our investigation concerning the question of whether atomic bound
states begin to stabilize in the ultra-intense field limit. The pulses
considered are essentially arbitrary, but we distinguish between three
situations. First the total classical momentum transfer is non-vanishing,
second not both the total classical momentum transfer and the total classical
displacement are vanishing together with the requirement that the potential has
a finite number of bound states and third both the total classical momentum
transfer and the total classical displacement are vanishing. For the first two
cases we rigorously prove, that the ionization probability tends to one when
the amplitude of the pulse tends to infinity and the pulse shape remains fixed.
In the third case the limit is strictly smaller than one. This case is also
related to the high frequency limit considered by Gavrila et al.Comment: 16 pages LateX, 2 figure
Ultrashort filaments of light in weakly-ionized, optically-transparent media
Modern laser sources nowadays deliver ultrashort light pulses reaching few
cycles in duration, high energies beyond the Joule level and peak powers
exceeding several terawatt (TW). When such pulses propagate through
optically-transparent media, they first self-focus in space and grow in
intensity, until they generate a tenuous plasma by photo-ionization. For free
electron densities and beam intensities below their breakdown limits, these
pulses evolve as self-guided objects, resulting from successive equilibria
between the Kerr focusing process, the chromatic dispersion of the medium, and
the defocusing action of the electron plasma. Discovered one decade ago, this
self-channeling mechanism reveals a new physics, widely extending the frontiers
of nonlinear optics. Implications include long-distance propagation of TW beams
in the atmosphere, supercontinuum emission, pulse shortening as well as
high-order harmonic generation. This review presents the landmarks of the
10-odd-year progress in this field. Particular emphasis is laid to the
theoretical modeling of the propagation equations, whose physical ingredients
are discussed from numerical simulations. Differences between femtosecond
pulses propagating in gaseous or condensed materials are underlined. Attention
is also paid to the multifilamentation instability of broad, powerful beams,
breaking up the energy distribution into small-scale cells along the optical
path. The robustness of the resulting filaments in adverse weathers, their
large conical emission exploited for multipollutant remote sensing, nonlinear
spectroscopy, and the possibility to guide electric discharges in air are
finally addressed on the basis of experimental results.Comment: 50 pages, 38 figure
Progress in Classical and Quantum Variational Principles
We review the development and practical uses of a generalized Maupertuis
least action principle in classical mechanics, in which the action is varied
under the constraint of fixed mean energy for the trial trajectory. The
original Maupertuis (Euler-Lagrange) principle constrains the energy at every
point along the trajectory. The generalized Maupertuis principle is equivalent
to Hamilton's principle. Reciprocal principles are also derived for both the
generalized Maupertuis and the Hamilton principles. The Reciprocal Maupertuis
Principle is the classical limit of Schr\"{o}dinger's variational principle of
wave mechanics, and is also very useful to solve practical problems in both
classical and semiclassical mechanics, in complete analogy with the quantum
Rayleigh-Ritz method. Classical, semiclassical and quantum variational
calculations are carried out for a number of systems, and the results are
compared. Pedagogical as well as research problems are used as examples, which
include nonconservative as well as relativistic systems
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