Resonant effects in above -threshold ionization.

Abstract

The ionization of noble gases in high intensity laser fields produces an electron spectrum with characteristic peaks corresponding to atomic levels of the atom. While many of the features in the low energy part of the spectrum have been explained qualitatively, current models are incomplete and are not able to account for the recurrence of ionization probability for higher energy electrons. In particular, one of the basic questions arising is the importance of multiple ionization in these spectra. While the light intensities are in the regime where multiple ionization is known to occur, it was not clear whether the higher energy (or plateau) electrons are a result of this, and whether multiple ionization even leaves a signature in the electron spectrum. In this dissertation, we use several experimental techniques to explore this problem in argon. Our results show that although multiple ionization occurs, electrons from this process do not appear in the observed electron spectrum. Furthermore, the appearance intensities of the peaks visible in the plateau region of the electron spectrum and of the resonance peaks in the well-understood low energy part show a strong correlation, suggestion a common origin of production. Accurate computer simulations of the process, using a single-active-electron model, reproduce all essential features of the experimental spectra. Our results support the conclusion that all high energy electrons observed in our experiments can be explained with single-electron effects.