Laser-assisted Auger decay as free-free transitions in a high-intensity laser field

Photoemission and photoionization time delays and rates

Ionization and, in particular, ionization through the interaction with light play an important role in fundamental processes in physics, chemistry, and biology. In recent years, we have seen tremendous advances in our ability to measure the dynamics of photo-induced ionization in various systems in the gas, liquid, or solid phase. In this review, we will define the parameters used for quantifying these dynamics. We give a brief overview of some of the most important ionization processes and how to resolve the associated time delays and rates. With regard to time delays, we ask the question: how long does it take to remove an electron from an atom, molecule, or solid? With regard to rates, we ask the question: how many electrons are emitted in a given unit of time? We present state-of-the-art results on ionization and photoemission time delays and rates. Our review starts with the simplest physical systems: the attosecond dynamics of single-photon and tunnel ionization of atoms in the gas phase. We then extend the discussion to molecular gases and ionization of liquid targets. Finally, we present the measurements of ionization delays in femto- and attosecond photoemission from the solid-vacuum interface.

Laser-Assisted Photoelectric Effect from Liquids

The laser-assisted photoelectric effect from liquid surfaces is reported for the first time. Photoelectrons generated by 35.6 eV radiation from a liquid microjet of water under vacuum are dressed with a ℏω=1.55  eV laser field. The subsequent redistribution of the photoelectron energies consists in the appearance of sidebands shifted by energies equivalent to ℏω, 2ℏω, and 3ℏω. The response has been modeled to the third order and combined with energy-resolved measurements. This result opens the possibility to investigate the dynamics at surfaces of liquid solutions and provide information about the electron emission process from a liquid.

Angle-resolved electron spectroscopy of laser-assisted Auger decay induced by a few-femtosecond x-ray pulse

Two-color (x-ray+infrared) electron spectroscopy is used for investigating laser-assisted KLL Auger decay following 1s photoionization of atomic Ne with few-femtosecond x-ray pulses from the Linac Coherent Light Source. In an angle-resolved experiment, the overall width of the laser-modified Auger-electron spectrum and its structure change significantly as a function of the emission angle. The spectra are characterized by a strong intensity variation of the sidebands revealing a gross structure. This variation is caused, as predicted by theory, by the interference of electrons emitted at different times within the duration of one optical cycle of the infrared dressing laser, which almost coincides with the lifetime of the Ne 1s vacancy.

Polarization control in two-color above-threshold ionization of atomic helium

Two-color multiphoton ionization of atomic helium was investigated by combining extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation from the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg with an intense synchronized optical laser. In the photoelectron spectrum, lines associated with direct ionization and above-threshold ionization show strong variations of their amplitudes as a function of both the intensity of the optical dressing field and the relative orientation of the linear polarization vectors of the two fields. The polarization dependence provides direct insight into the symmetry of the outgoing electrons in above-threshold ionization. In the high field regime, the monochromaticity of the XUV radiation enables the unperturbed observation of nonlinear processes in the optical field.