Strong-Field Physics with Mid-IR Fields

• Published in: Physical review. X 2015-06, Vol.5 (2), p.021034, Article 021034
• Main Authors: Wolter, Benjamin, Pullen, Michael G., Baudisch, Matthias, Sclafani, Michele, Hemmer, Michaël, Senftleben, Arne, Schröter, Claus Dieter, Ullrich, Joachim, Moshammer, Robert, Biegert, Jens
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atomic structure; Chemical reactions; Elastic scattering; Electric fields; Electron diffraction; Energy; Energy distribution; Femtosecond pulsed lasers; Field ionization; High energy electrons; Lasers; Light sources; Methodology; Microprocessors; Molecular dynamics; Molecular structure; Momentum; Photoionization; Physics; Versatility; Wavelengths; Xenon
• ISSN: 2160-3308; 2160-3308
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.5.021034

Strong-field physics is currently experiencing a shift towards the use of mid-IR driving wavelengths. This is because they permit conducting experiments unambiguously in the quasistatic regime and enable exploiting the effects related to ponderomotive scaling of electron recollisions. Initial measurements taken in the mid-IR immediately led to a deeper understanding of photoionization and allowed a discrimination among different theoretical models. Ponderomotive scaling of rescattering has enabled new avenues towards time-resolved probing of molecular structure. Essential for this paradigm shift was the convergence of two experimental tools: (1) intense mid-IR sources that can create high-energy photons and electrons while operating within the quasistatic regime and (2) detection systems that can detect the generated high-energy particles and image the entire momentum space of the interaction in full coincidence. Here, we present a unique combination of these two essential ingredients, namely, a 160-kHz mid-IR source and a reaction microscope detection system, to present an experimental methodology that provides an unprecedented three-dimensional view of strong-field interactions. The system is capable of generating and detecting electron energies that span a 6 order of magnitude dynamic range. We demonstrate the versatility of the system by investigating electron recollisions, the core process that drives strong-field phenomena, at both low (meV) and high (hundreds of eV) energies. The low-energy region is used to investigate recently discovered low-energy structures, while the high-energy electrons are used to probe atomic structure via laser-induced electron diffraction. Moreover, we present, for the first time, the correlated momentum distribution of electrons from nonsequential double ionization driven by mid-IR pulses.