Instantaneous Quasiphoton in Strong-Field Ionization

Abstract

Photon is a concept that does not apply at the instantaneous level when light is described by classical electromagnetic fields. Exploiting the dynamical rotational symmetry of circularly or elliptically polarized classical light pulses, however, we demonstrate the existence of instantaneous quasiphotons down to the subcycle level. We illustrate the concept of quasiphotons in strong-field ionization through the correlated spectrum of angular momentum and energy of photoelectrons, both at the tunnel exit and in the asymptotic region. Moreover, we propose a protocol based on electron vortices to directly visualize the existence of quasiphotons. Our work paves the pathway towards a deeper understanding of fundamental light-matter interactions with photonic characteristics on the subcycle scale.