Observation of Strong Electron Correlation in Planetary Atomic Structure

Xinglong Yu; Yongyan Han; Zhenjie Shen; Yong-Kang Fang; Shushu Ruan; Jie Liu; Zhixian Wu; Xincheng Wang; Ahai Chen; Wei-Chao Jiang; Kiyoshi Ueda; Liang-You Peng; Yuhai Jiang

arXiv · 2603.09102

Observation of Strong Electron Correlation in Planetary Atomic Structure

Xinglong Yu·Yongyan Han·Zhenjie Shen·Yong-Kang Fang·Shushu Ruan·Jie Liu·Zhixian Wu·Xincheng Wang·Ahai Chen·Wei-Chao Jiang·Kiyoshi Ueda·Liang-You Peng·Yuhai Jiang

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Abstract

Unravelling two-electron correlation is a long-standing challenge at the heart of few-body quantum physics, underlying correlated phenomena across atomic, molecular and condensed-matter science. In prototypical three-body Coulomb systems, such strong correlation in doubly excited states (DESs) of planetary atomic systems leaves distinct signatures in nonsequential above-threshold double ionization (NS-ATDI) driven by coherent laser fields, yet such targeted study has long remained elusive. Here we present kinematically complete measurements of multi-photon double ionization in cold strontium atoms. Our results reveal a dominant NS-ATDI channel exhibiting well-defined band structures that encode pronounced energy and angular correlations between the two emitted electrons. Autoionization spectra confirm the presence of DESs as transition states that effectively promote the NS-ATDI process. These observations provide direct evidence that both electrons are synchronously excited and ionized via resonant high-lying DES transitions, meaning the structure-linked two-electron correlation of DES is preserved and propagated in the laser-driven time-dependent three-body system. Our work transcends the traditional paradigm of multi-photon double ionization, and fundamentally reshapes the core understanding of intrinsic electron correlation governing many-body systems in nature.

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Xinglong Yu, Yongyan Han, Zhenjie Shen, Yong-Kang Fang, Shushu Ruan, Jie Liu, Zhixian Wu, Xincheng Wang, Ahai Chen, Wei-Chao Jiang, Kiyoshi Ueda, Liang-You Peng, Yuhai Jiang. 2026-03-10. Observation of Strong Electron Correlation in Planetary Atomic Structure. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.09102

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