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arXiv · 2509.12820

Dynamical phase evolution of Coulomb-focused electrons in strong-field ionization probed by a standing light wave

Yuan Gu·Hao Liang·Weiran Zheng·Aofan Lin·Jiaye Zhang·Zichen Li·Juan Du·Lei Ying·Peilun He·Jan-Michael Rost·Sina Jacob·Maksim Kunitski·Till Jahnke·Sebastian Eckart·Kang Lin·Reinhard Dörner
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Abstract

We investigate the dynamical phase evolution of Coulomb-focused electrons in strong-field ionization. We diffract the electrons with an ultrashort standing light wave to track their time-dependent phase. Our findings show that low-energy electrons exhibit a unique chromosome-shaped diffraction pattern, distinct from higher-energy electrons. Our numerical model quantitatively reproduces the experimental results, confirming this pattern maps the electron's time-dependent phase evolution as it escapes from a Coulomb potential. Our pulsed diffraction grating technique offers a new way to sense an electron's quantum phase without interfering its release mechanism.

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Yuan Gu, Hao Liang, Weiran Zheng, Aofan Lin, Jiaye Zhang, Zichen Li, Juan Du, Lei Ying, Peilun He, Jan-Michael Rost, Sina Jacob, Maksim Kunitski, Till Jahnke, Sebastian Eckart, Kang Lin, Reinhard Dörner. 2025-09-16. Dynamical phase evolution of Coulomb-focused electrons in strong-field ionization probed by a standing light wave. https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.12820

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