arXiv subjects

I. A. Ivanov

Publications and source records attributed to I. A. Ivanov.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Relativistic calculation of non-dipole effects in high harmonic generation

We present results of relativistic calculations of even order harmonic generation from various atomic targets. The even order harmonics appear due to the relativistic non-dipole effects. We take these relativistic effects into account by using an approach based on the solution of the time-dependent Dirac equation. The spectra of the non-dipole even harmonics look qualitatively similar to the spectra of the dipole harmonics obeying the same classical cutoff rule. The temporal dynamics of the formation of the non-dipole harmonics is, however, distinctly different from the process of dipole harmonics formation. Even order harmonics emission is strongly suppressed at the beginning of the laser pulse, and the emission times of the non-dipole harmonics are shifted with respect to the bursts of the dipole emission. These features are partly explained by a simple modification of the classical three-step model which takes into account selection rules governing the emission of harmonic photons.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2023

Tracking quantum clouds expansion in tunneling ionization

We study formation and evolution of the electron wave-packets in the process of strong field ionization of various atomic targets. Our study is based on reformulating the problem in terms of conditional amplitudes, i.e., the amplitudes describing outcomes of measurements of different observables provided that the electron is found in the ionized state after the end of the pulse. By choosing the electron coordinate as such an observable, we were able to define unambiguously the notion of the ionized wave-packets and to study their formation and spread. We show that the evolution of the ionized wave packets obtained in this way follows closely the classical trajectories at the initial stages of evolution providing an {\it ab initio} quantum-mechanical confirmation of the basic premises of the Classical Monte Carlo Calculations approach. At the later stages of evolution the picture becomes more complicated due to the wave packets' spread and due to interference of wave packets originating from different field maxima. Our approach also allowed us to obtain information about the coordinate and velocity electron distributions at the tunnel exit.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2022

Joint probability calculation of the lateral velocity distribution in strong field ionization process

We describe an approach to the description of the time-development of the process of strong field ionization of atoms based on the calculation of the joint probability of occurrence of two events, event B being finding atom in the ionized state after the end of the laser pulse, event A being finding a particular value of a given physical observable at a moment of time inside the laser pulse duration. As an example of such an physical observable we consider lateral velocity component of the electron's velocity. Our approach allows us to study time-evolution of the lateral velocity distribution for the ionized electron during the interval of the laser pulse duration. We present results of such a study for the cases of target atomic systems with short range Yukawa and Coulomb interactions.

physics.atom-ph↗

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↗

arXiv2021

Effect of the finite speed of light in ionization of extended systems

We study propagation effects due to the finite speed of light in ionization of extended systems. We present a general quantitative theory of these effects and show under which conditions such effects should appear. The finite speed of light propagation effects are encoded in the non-dipole terms of the time-dependent Shrödinger equation and display themselves in the photoelectron momentum distribution projected on the molecular axis. Our numerical modeling for the \Hp molecular ion and the \Ne dimer shows that the finite light propagation time from one atomic center to another can be accurately determined in a table top laser experiment which is much more readily affordable than an earlier synchrotron measurement by Grundmann {\em et al} [Science 370, 339 (2020)]

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Simple man model in the Heisenberg picture

We describe an approximate solution to the Heisenberg operator equations of motion for an atom in a laser field. The solution is based on a quantum generalization of the physical picture given by the well-known Simple Man Model (SMM). We provide justification of the plausibility of this generalization and test its validity by applying it for the calculation of the coordinate and velocity autocorrelation functions which, to our knowledge, have not been studied before in the context of the strong field ionization. Both our model and results of the ab initio numerical calculations show distinct types of correlations due to different types of electron's motion providing a useful insight into the strong field ionization dynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Entropy-based view of the strong field ionization process

We apply information theoretic entropies of coordinate and velocity distributions in quantum mechanics for the description of the strong field ionization process. The approach is based on the properties of the entropies used in the information theory, viz., their ability to gauge the "distance" between the probability distributions and thus to be sensitive to the distributions variations. Study of the entropies as functions of time allows thus to visualize conveniently evolution of the wave-function of the system undergoing strong field ionization, and to pin down, in particular, the times when the wave-function begins to change appreciably.

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↗

arXiv2016

Measuring laser carrier-envelope phase effects in the noble gases with an atomic hydrogen calibration standard

We present accurate measurements of carrier-envelope phase effects on ionisation of the noble gases with few-cycle laser pulses. The experimental apparatus is calibrated by using atomic hydrogen data to remove any systematic offsets and thereby obtain accurate CEP data on other generally used noble gases such as Ar, Kr and Xe. Experimental results for H are well supported by exact TDSE theoretical simulations however significant differences are observed in case of noble gases.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2015

On the origin of the cusp in the transverse momentum distribution for the process of strong field ionization

We study the origin of the cusp-structure in the transverse or lateral electron momentum distribution (TEMD) for the process of tunelling ionization driven by a linearly polarized laser pulse. We show that appearance of the cusp in the TEMD can be explained as follows. Projection on the set of the Coulomb scattering states leads to appearance of "elementary" cusps which have simple structure as functions of the lateral momentum. This structure is independent of the detailed dynamics of the ionization process and can be described analytically. These "elementary" cusps can be used to describe the cusp-structure in TEMD.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2015

Transverse electron momentum distribution in tunneling and over the barrier ionization by laser pulses with varying ellipticity

We study transverse electron momentum distribution (TEMD) in strong field atomic ionization driven by laser pulses with varying ellipticity. We show, both experimentally and theoretically, that the TEMD in the tunneling and over the barrier ionization regimes evolves in a qualitatively different way when the ellipticity parameter describing polarization state of the driving laser pulse increases.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2014

Evolution of the transverse photoelectron momentum distribution for atomic ionization driven by a laser pulse with varying ellipticity

We consider the process of atomic ionization driven by a laser pulse with varying ellipticity. We study distribution of the momenta of the photoelectrons, ionized by a strong laser field, emitted in the direction perpendicular to the polarization plane (transverse distribution). We show, that with changing laser pulse ellipticity, the transverse distribution evolves from the singular cusp-like distribution for the close to linear polarization to the smooth gaussian-like structure for the close to circular polarization. In the latter case, when the ellipticity parameter $ε\to 1$ the strong-field approximation formula for the transverse momentum distribution becomes quantitatively correct.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2013

Strong-field ionization of He by elliptically polarized light in attoclock configuration

We perform time-dependent calculations of strong-field ionization of He by elliptically polarized light in configuration of recent attoclock measurements of Boge {\em et al} [PRL {\bf 111}, 103003 (2013)]. By solving a 3D time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we obtain the angular offset $θ_m$ of the maximum in the photoelectron momentum distribution in the polarization plane relative to the position predicted by the strong field approximation. This offset is used in attoclock measurements to extract the tunneling time. Our calculations clearly support the set of experimental angular offset values obtained with the use of non-adiabatic calibration of the {\em in situ} field intensity, and disagree with an alternative set calibrated adiabatically. These findings are in contrast with the conclusions of Boge {\em et al} who found a qualitative agreement of their semiclassical calculations with the adiabatic set of experimental data. This controversy may complicate interpretation of the recent atto-clock measurements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2013

Extraction of attosecond time delay using the soft photon approximation

We use the soft photon approximation to extract the Wigner time delay from atomic two-color photoionization experiments. Unlike the strong field approximation, the present method does not require introduction of the Coulomb-laser coupling corrections and enables one to extract the Wigner time delay directly from attosecond time delay measurements.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Timing analysis of two-electron photoemission

We predict a significant delay of two-electron photoemission from the helium atom after absorption of an attosecond XUV pulse. We establish this delay by solving the time dependent Schrödinger equation and by subsequent tracing the field-free evolution of the two-electron wave packet. This delay can also be related to the energy derivative of the phase of the complex double photoionization (DPI) amplitude which we evaluate by the convergent close-coupling method. Our observations prompt future attosecond streaking experiments on DPI of He which can elucidate various mechanisms of this strongly correlated ionization process.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Delay in atomic photoionization

We analyze the time delay between emission of photoelectrons from the outer valence $ns$ and $np$ sub-shells in noble gas atoms following absorption of an attosecond XUV pulse. By solving the time dependent Schrödinger equation and carefully examining the time evolution of the photoelectron wave packet, we establish the apparent "time zero" when the photoelectron leaves the atom. Various processes such as elastic scattering of the photoelectron on the parent ion and many-electron correlation affect the quantum phase of the dipole transition matrix element, the energy dependence of which defines the emission timing. This qualitatively explains the time delay between photoemission from the $2s$ and $2p$ sub-shells of Ne as determined experimentally by attosecond streaking [{\em Science} {\bf 328}, 1658 (2010)]. However, with our extensive numerical modeling, we were only able to account for less than a half of the measured time delay of $21\pm5$ as. We argue that the XUV pulse alone cannot produce such a large time delay and it is the streaking IR field that is most likely responsible for this effect.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2009

Tailoring the waveforms to extend the high-order harmonic generation cut-off

Increase of the cut-off value in the high order harmonics generation process is demonstrated for a special case of the driving field composed of several harmonics of a given frequency. It is shown that a moderate, of the order of 20%, increase in the cut-off value can be achieved. This result possibly constitutes an upper limit for the increase in the cut-off value, attainable for a class of the waveforms considered in the paper.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2006

Two-photon double ionization of helium in the region of photon energies 42-50 eV

We report the total integrated cross-section (TICS) of two-photon double ionization of helium in the photon energy range from 42 to 50 eV. Our computational procedure relies on a numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation on a square-integrable basis and subsequent projection of this solution on a set of final states describing two electrons in continuum. Close to the threshold, we reproduce results previously known from the literature. The region 47-50 eV seems to have been previously unexplored. Our results suggest that TICS, as a function of the photon energy, grows monotonously in the region 42-50 eV. We also present fully resolved triple differential cross sections for selected photon energies.

physics.atm-clus↗