arXiv subjects

A. S. Landsman

Publications and source records attributed to A. S. Landsman.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

Controlling quantum numbers and light emission of Rydberg states via the laser pulse duration

High Harmonic Generation (HHG) creates coherent high frequency radiation via the process of strong field ionization followed by recombination. Recently, a complementary approach based on Frustrated Tunnel Ionization (FTI) was demonstrated (Nature Photonics 12, 620 (2018)). It uses spectrally separated peaks created by lower quantum number Rydberg states to produce coherent extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light. While much is understood about enhancing emission from HHG by controlling recombining electron trajectories, relatively little is known about controlling the quantum number distribution of Rydberg states. This distribution is generally believed to be determined primarily by field strength and laser frequency. We show that, in fact, it also changes significantly with the duration of the laser pulse: increasing pulse duration depletes lower-lying Rydberg states, thereby substantially decreasing EUV yield. Using electron trajectory analysis, we identify elastic recollision as the underlying cause. Our results open a door to greater control over production of coherent high frequency radiation, by combining FTI and HHG mechanisms, and also improved the interpretation of molecular imaging experiments that rely on elastic electron recollision.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Attoclock revisited on electron tunnelling time

The last decade has seen an intense renewed debate on tunnelling time, both from a theoretical and an experimental perspective. Here, we review recent developments and new insights in the field of strong-field tunnel ionization related to tunnelling time, and apply these findings to the interpretation of the attoclock experiment [Landsman et al., Optica 1, 343 (2014)]. We conclude that models including finite tunnelling time are consistent with recent experimental measurements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2018

Intensity dependence of Rydberg states

We investigate numerically and analytically the intensity dependence of the fraction of electrons that end up in a Rydberg state after strong-field ionization with linearly polarized light. We find that including the intensity dependent distribution of ionization times and non-adiabatic effects leads to a better understanding of experimental results. Furthermore, we observe using Classical Trajectory Monte Carlo simulations that the intensity dependence of the Rydberg yield changes with wavelength and that the previously observed power-law dependence breaks down at longer wavelengths. Our work suggests that Rydberg yield measurements can be used as an independent test for non-adiabaticity in strong field ionization.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2018

Instantaneous ionization rate as a functional derivative

We describe an approach defining instantaneous ionization rate (IIR) as a functional derivative of the total ionization probability. The definition is based on physical quantities which are directly measurable, such as the total ionization probability and the waveform of the pulse. The definition is, therefore, unambiguous and does not suffer from gauge non-invariance. We compute IIR by solving numerically the time-dependent Schrodinger equation for the hydrogen atom in a strong laser field. We find that the IIR lags behind the electric field, but this lag is entirely due to the long tail effect of the Coulomb field. In agreement with the previous results using attoclock methodology, therefore, the IIR we define does not show measurable delay in strong field tunnel ionization.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Analytical approximations for the higher energy structure in strong field ionization with inhomogeneous electric fields

Recently, the emergence of a higher energy structure (HES) due to a spatial inhomogeneity in the laser electric field, as is typically found close to a nano tip, was reported in Phys.~Rev. Letter {\bf 119}, 053204 (2017). For practical applications, such as the characterization of near-fields or the creation of localized sources of monoenergetic electron beams with tunable energies, further insight into the nature of this higher energy structure is needed. Here, we give a closed form analytical approximation to describe the movement of the electron in the inhomogeneous electric field. In particular, we derive a simple scaling law for the location of the HES peak and give a scheme to analytically tune the width of the peak, both of which will prove useful in optimizing the nanostructure size or geometry for creating the HES in experimental settings.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2017

Above-threshold ionization (ATI) in multicenter molecules: the role of the initial state

A possible route to extract electronic and nuclear dynamics from molecular targets with attosecond temporal and nanometer spatial resolution is to employ recolliding electrons as `probes'. The recollision process in molecules is, however, very challenging to treat using {\it ab initio} approaches. Even for the simplest diatomic systems, such as H$_2$, today's computational capabilities are not enough to give a complete description of the electron and nuclear dynamics initiated by a strong laser field. As a consequence, approximate qualitative descriptions are called to play an important role. In this contribution we extend the work presented in N. Suárez {\it et al.}, Phys.~Rev. A {\bf 95}, 033415 (2017), to three-center molecular targets. Additionally, we incorporate a more accurate description of the molecular ground state, employing information extracted from quantum chemistry software packages. This step forward allows us to include, in a detailed way, both the molecular symmetries and nodes present in the high-occupied molecular orbital. We are able to, on the one hand, keep our formulation as analytical as in the case of diatomics, and, on the other hand, to still give a complete description of the underlying physics behind the above-threshold ionization process. The application of our approach to complex multicenter - with more than 3 centers, targets appears to be straightforward.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Double-electron ionization driven by inhomogeneous fields

Electron-electron correlation effects play an instrumental role in our understanding of sequential (SDI) and non-sequential double ionization (NSDI) mechanisms. Here, we present a theoretical study of NSDI driven by plasmonic-enhanced spatial inhomogeneous fields. By numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a linear reduced model of He and a double-electron time-evolution probability analysis, we provide evidence for the enhancement effects in NSDI showing that the double ionization yield at lower laser peak intensities is increased due to the inhomogeneity of the laser field. Furthermore, our quantum mechanical model, as well as classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations, show that inhomogeneous fields are a useful tool for splitting the binary and recoil processes in the rescattering scenario.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Emergence of a higher energy structure in strong field ionization with inhomogeneous electric fields

Studies of strong field ionization have historically relied on the strong field approximation, which neglects all spatial dependence in the forces experienced by the electron after ionization. More recently, the small spatial inhomogeneity introduced by the long-range Coulomb potential has been linked to a number of important features in the photoelectron spectrum, such as Coulomb asymmetry, Coulomb focusing, and the low energy structure (LES). Here, we demonstrate by combined quantum and classical simulations that a small time-varying spatial dependence in the laser electric field creates a prominent higher energy peak at energies above the "classical cut-off" for direct electrons. This higher energy structure (HES) originates from direct electrons ionized near the peak of a single half-cycle of the laser pulse. The HES is separated from all other ionization events (providing sub-cycle resolution) and is highly sensitive to the carrier envelope phase (CEP). The large accumulation of electrons with tuneable energy suggests a promising method for creating a localized source of electron pulses of attosecond duration using tabletop laser technology.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2016

Attosecond physics at the nanoscale

Recently two emerging areas of research, attosecond and nanoscale physics, have started to come together. Attosecond physics deals with phenomena occurring when ultrashort laser pulses, with duration on the femto- and sub-femtosecond time scales, interact with atoms, molecules or solids. The laser-induced electron dynamics occurs natively on a timescale down to a few hundred or even tens of attoseconds, which is comparable with the optical field. On the other hand, the second branch involves the manipulation and engineering of mesoscopic systems, such as solids, metals and dielectrics, with nanometric precision. Although nano-engineering is a vast and well-established research field on its own, the merger with intense laser physics is relatively recent. In this article we present a comprehensive experimental and theoretical overview of physics that takes place when short and intense laser pulses interact with nanosystems, such as metallic and dielectric nanostructures. In particular we elucidate how the spatially inhomogeneous laser induced fields at a nanometer scale modify the laser-driven electron dynamics. Consequently, this has important impact on pivotal processes such as ATI and HHG. The deep understanding of the coupled dynamics between these spatially inhomogeneous fields and matter configures a promising way to new avenues of research and applications. Thanks to the maturity that attosecond physics has reached, together with the tremendous advance in material engineering and manipulation techniques, the age of atto-nano physics has begun, but it is in the initial stage. We present thus some of the open questions, challenges and prospects for experimental confirmation of theoretical predictions, as well as experiments aimed at characterizing the induced fields and the unique electron dynamics initiated by them with high temporal and spatial resolution.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2015

The effect of electron-electron correlation on the attoclock experiment

We investigate multi-electron effects in strong-field ionization of Helium using a semi-classical model that, unlike other commonly used theoretical approaches, takes into account electron-electron correlation. Our approach has an additional advantage of allowing to selectively switch off different contributions from the parent ion (such as the remaining electron or the nuclear charge) and thereby investigate in detail how the final electron angle in the attoclock experiment is influenced by these contributions. We find that the bound electron exerts a significant effect on the final electron momenta distribution that can, however, be accounted for by an appropriately selected mean field. Our results show excellent agreement with other widely used theoretical models done within a single active electron approximation.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2015

Carrier-wave Rabi flopping signatures in high-order harmonic generation for alkali atoms

We present the first theoretical investigation of carrier-wave Rabi flopping in real atoms by employing numerical simulations of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in alkali species. Given the short HHG cutoff, related to the low saturation intensity, we concentrate on the features of the third harmonic of sodium (Na) and potassium (K) atoms. For pulse areas of 2$π$ and Na atoms, a characteristic unique peak appears, which, after analyzing the ground state population, we correlate with the conventional Rabi flopping. On the other hand, for larger pulse areas, carrier-wave Rabi flopping occurs, and is associated with a more complex structure in the third harmonic. These new characteristics observed in K atoms indicate the breakdown of the area theorem, as was already demonstrated under similar circumstances in narrow band gap semiconductors.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2011

Onset and saturation of ion heating by odd-parity rotating-magnetic-fields in a field-reversed configuration

Heating of figure-8 ions by odd-parity rotating magnetic fields ($RMF_o$) applied to an elongated field-reversed configuration (FRC) is investigated. The largest energy gain occurs at resonances ($s \equiv ω_R/ ω$) of the $RMF_o$ frequency, $ω_R$, with the figure-8 orbital frequency, $ω$, and is proportional to $s^2$ for $s-even$ resonances and to $s$ for $s-odd$ resonances. The threshold for the transition from regular to stochastic orbits explains both the onset and saturation of heating. The FRC magnetic geometry lowers the threshold for heating below that in the tokamak by an order of magnitude.

nlin.CD↗

arXiv2010

Global stability of synchronous and out-of-phase oscillations in central pattern generators

Coupled arrays of Andronov-Hopf oscillators are investigated. These arrays can be diffusively or repulsively coupled, and can serve as central pattern generator models in animal locomotion and robotics. It is shown that repulsive coupling generates out-of-phase oscillations, while diffusive coupling generates synchronous oscillations. Specifically, symmetric solutions and their corresponding amplitudes are derived, and contraction analysis is used to prove global stability and convergence of oscillations to either symmetric out-of-phase or synchronous states, depending on the coupling constant. Next, the two mechanisms are used jointly by coupling multiple arrays. The resulting dynamics is analyzed, in a model inspired by the CPG-motorneuron network that controls the heartbeat of a medicinal leech.

physics.bio-ph↗