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arXiv · 1706.07303

Nonlinear photoionization of transparent solids: a nonperturbative theory obeying selection rules

N. S. Shcheblanov·M. E. Povarnitsyn·P. N. Terekhin·S. Guizard·A. Couairon
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Abstract

We provide a nonperturbative theory for photoionization of transparent solids. By applying a particular steepest-descent method, we derive analytical expressions for the photoionization rate within the two-band structure model, which consistently account for the $selection$ $rules$ related to the parity of the number of absorbed photons ($odd$ or $even$). We demonstrate the crucial role of the interference of the transition amplitudes (saddle-points), which in the semi-classical limit, can be interpreted in terms of interfering quantum trajectories. Keldysh's foundational work of laser physics [Sov. Phys. JETP 20, 1307 (1965)] disregarded this interference, resulting in the violation of $selection$ $rules$. We provide an improved Keldysh photoionization theory and show its excellent agreement with measurements for the frequency dependence of the two-photon absorption and nonlinear refractive index coefficients in dielectrics.

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N. S. Shcheblanov, M. E. Povarnitsyn, P. N. Terekhin, S. Guizard, A. Couairon. 2017-06-22. Nonlinear photoionization of transparent solids: a nonperturbative theory obeying selection rules. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.96.063410

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