Pulse-length dependence of the anisotropy of laser-driven cluster explosions: transition to the impulsive regime for pulses approaching the few-cycle limit

We have experimentally observed anisotropic ion emission from Xe and Ar clusters under intense ultrashort (∼30  fs) laser irradiation, with up to 1.8 times more energetic ions emitted in the direction perpendicular to the laser polarization than in the parallel direction. As the pulse length was var...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2010-05, Vol.104 (20), p.203401-203401, Article 203401
Main Authors: Skopalová, E, El-Taha, Y C, Zaïr, A, Hohenberger, M, Springate, E, Tisch, J W G, Smith, R A, Marangos, J P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANISOTROPY
ARGON
ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMIC CLUSTERS
CHARGED PARTICLES
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
FERMIONS
FLUIDS
GASES
HARMONIC OSCILLATORS
ION EMISSION
IONS
LASER RADIATION
LEPTONS
MATERIALS
NANOSTRUCTURES
NONMETALS
POLARIZATION
PULSES
RADIATIONS
RARE GASES
TAIL IONS
XENON
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Summary:We have experimentally observed anisotropic ion emission from Xe and Ar clusters under intense ultrashort (∼30  fs) laser irradiation, with up to 1.8 times more energetic ions emitted in the direction perpendicular to the laser polarization than in the parallel direction. As the pulse length was varied in the range of 8-160 fs, we found this anisotropy to first grow and then diminish. Treating electrons inside the unexpanded cluster as a harmonic oscillator qualitatively demonstrates how intracluster electric field can result in an ion emission anisotropy of this kind. Our observations give direct access to the initial charging dynamics present in the first few cycles of an intense laser field interacting with any nanoscale dielectric.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.104.203401