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Yueming Zhou

Publications and source records attributed to Yueming Zhou.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Nondipole Contributions to Attosecond Chiral Photoionization Asymmetries

Photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) reads molecular chirality from forward-backward asymmetries in photoelectron emission, but the same observable can also contain non-dipole contributions from photon momentum transfer. Here we show that such contributions can reshape attosecond PECD measurements in both one- and two-photon ionization of chiral molecules. Calculations beyond the dipole approximation, interpreted with perturbation theory, reveal that non-dipole effects modify not only the magnitude but also the phase of the emitted electron wave packet. In two-photon interferometry, pathway interference amplifies the non-dipole response and can reverse the apparent chiral asymmetry. We further identify a practical separation principle: the non-dipole component is insensitive to enantiomeric handedness and can therefore be obtained from a racemic mixture. Subtracting this background isolates the purely chirality-induced asymmetry, enabling more accurate measurements of chiral electron dynamics.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2026

Vortex photoelectron holography in strong-field tunneling ionization

Vortex electrons, characterized by a helical phase front, offer unique advantages for probing material structures. Such electrons can be generated via tunneling ionization in strong laser fields. In this paper, we investigate the rescattering dynamics of vortex photoelectrons by the parent ion. Specifically, we introduce vortex photoelectron holography, extending conventional strong-field photoelectron holography (SFPH) from plane-wave to vortex rescattering. By solving the time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation, we extract the vortex scattering phase from the SFPH fringes, showing excellent agreement with scattering calculations. Thus, our work provides direct access to the vortex scattering phase, paving the way for applying SFPH to structurally sensitive imaging with phase-engineered photoelectrons.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2026

Anomalous Autler-Townes Splitting in Resonant Multiphoton Ionization Driven by Bright Squeezed Vacuum

Bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) light has a vanishing mean optical electric field yet can strongly enhance strong-field nonlinear responses beyond the conventional semiclassical paradigm. Here we examine this scenario in the light-matter strong-coupling regime by investigating resonant multiphoton ionization of atoms driven by BSV, using a fully quantum treatment of both the electron and the field. Our results show that the photoelectron energy spectrum exhibits an anomalous Autler-Townes splitting whose magnitude grows with the Above-threshold-ionization (ATI) order, rather than remaining essentially ATI-order independent as in the case of coherent driving. This behavior reflects a general scaling with the number of absorbed photons and originates from the broad photon-number fluctuations of the driving field together with the resulting electron-field entanglement. We further show that the BSV-induced enhancement of ionization yields evolves with intensity, crossing over from the $g^{(p+1)}$ limit to the $g^{(p)}$ limit as Rabi oscillations become established. These results identify a quantum regime of strong-field ionization governed by the interplay of photon statistics, nonlinear transitions, strong coupling, and nonseparable light-matter dynamics.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2025

Attosecond-Resolved Photoionization Dynamics and Interference-Enhanced Photoelectron Circular Dichroism in Chiral Molecules

Chiral molecules exhibit enantiosensitive light-matter interactions, with photoelectron circular dichroism (PECD) serving as a sensitive probe of molecular chirality through the asymmetry in the photoelectron wavepacket amplitude. Here, we demonstrate a photoelectron interferometric approach to access the phase of the photoelectron wavepacket and uncover attosecond dynamics in chiral molecule photoionization. Using circularly polarized attosecond XUV pulse trains synchronized with IR fields, we reveal distinct time delays between forward- and backward-ejected photoelectrons in a randomly oriented ensemble of chiral molecules. Moreover, we predict a pronounced enhancement of PECD due to the interference of the two photoionization pathways. The forward-backward time delay difference and the PECD are more prominent when the IR field counter-rotates with the XUV field. These results imply the counter-rotating IR field is more efficient in generating odd-parity photoelectron wavepackets in continuum-continuum transitions, highlighting the critical role of long-range chiral potential. Our work demonstrates a way of coherent control over the chiral photoelectron wavepackets, providing a route to enhance chiral signals and manipulate ultrafast chiral dynamics on attosecond time scales.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2023

Circularly polarized RABBIT applied to a Rabi-cycling atom

We utilize the reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions (RABBIT) technique to study the phase of a Rabi-cycling atom using circularly polarized extreme ultraviolet and infrared (IR) fields, where the IR field induces Rabi oscillations between the 2s and 2p states of lithium. Autler-Townes splittings are observed in sidebands of the photoelectron spectra and the relative phases of outgoing electron wave packets are retrieved from the azimuthal angle. In this RABBIT scheme, more ionization pathways beyond the usual two-photon pathways are required. Our results show that the polar-angle-integrated and polar-angle-resolved RABBIT phases have different behaviors when the XUV and IR fields have co- and counter-rotating circular polarizations, which are traced back to the different ionization channels according to the selection rules in these two cases and their competition relying on the propensity rule in laser-assisted photoionization.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2022

Magnetic-Field effect in Laser-assisted XUV ionization

The magnetic-field effect of the laser pulse is investigated in laser-assisted XUV ionization. By numerically solving the three-dimensional time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation, we find that the photoelectron momentum distribution is distorted by the magnetic-field effect of the IR streaking field. It results in a transverse-momentum- and time-delay-dependent longitudinal photoelectron momentum shift, which is further analytically confirmed by employing the nondipole corrected strong field approximation. We also demonstrate that the magnetic field does not affect the time shift retrieved from the streaking spectrum, although the streaking spectrum is apparently altered by the momentum shift induced by the magnetic-field effect. Our work reveals the time-resolved nondipole effect of the laser pulse by the attosecond streaking technique.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2019

Semiclassical analysis of photoelectron interference in a synthesized two-color laser pulse

We measure the photoelectron energy spectra from strong-field ionization of Kr in a two-color laser pulse consisting of a strong 400-nm field and a weak 800-nm field. The intensities of the main above-threshold ionization (ATI) and sideband peaks in the photoelectron energy spectra oscillate roughly oppositely with respect to the relative phase between the two-color components. We study the photoelectron interferometry in strong-field ATI regime from the view of interference of different electron trajectories in order to extend RABBITT type analysis to the strong-field regime. Based on the strong-field approximation model, we obtain analytical expressions for the oscillations of both ATI and sideband peaks with the relative phase. A phase shift of \pi/4 with respect to the field maximum of the two-color laser pulse is revealed for the interference maximum in the main ATI peak without including the effect of the atomic potential.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2019

Exit momentum and instantaneous ionization rate of nonadiabatic tunneling ionization in elliptically polarized laser fields

Based on the strong-field approximation, we obtain analytical expressions for the initial momentum at the tunnel exit and instantaneous ionization rate of tunneling ionization in elliptically polarized laser fields with arbitrary ellipticity. The tunneling electron reveals a nonzero offset of the initial momentum at the tunnel exit in the elliptically polarized laser field. We find that the transverse and longitudinal components of this momentum offset with respect to the instantaneous field direction are directly related to the time derivatives of the instantaneous laser electric field along the angular and radial directions, respectively. We further show that the nonzero initial momentum at the tunnel exit has a significant influence on the laser phase dependence of the instantaneous ionization rate in the nonadiabatic tunneling regime.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2019

Photoelectron holographic interferometry to probe the longitudinal momentum offset at the tunnel exit

Laser-induced electron tunneling underlies numerous emerging spectroscopic techniques to probe attosecond electron dynamics in atoms and molecules. The improvement of those techniques requires an accurate knowledge of the exit momentum for the tunneling wave packet. Here we demonstrate a photoelectron interferometric scheme to probe the electron momentum longitudinal to the tunnel direction at the tunnel exit by measuring the photoelectron holographic pattern in an orthogonally polarized two-color laser pulse. In this scheme, we use a perturbative 400-nm laser field to modulate the photoelectron holographic fringes generated by a strong 800-nm pulse. The fringe shift offers a direct experimental access to the intermediate canonical momentum of the rescattering electron, allowing us to reconstruct the momentum offset at the tunnel exit with high accuracy. Our result unambiguously proves the existence of nonzero initial longitudinal momentum at the tunnel exit and provides fundamental insights into the non-quasi-static nature of the strong-field tunneling.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2017

Attosecond probing of nuclear dynamics with trajectory-resolved high-harmonic spectroscopy

We report attosecond-scale probing of the laser-induced dynamics in molecules. We apply the method of high-harmonic spectroscopy, where laser-driven recolliding electrons on various trajec- tories record the motion of their parent ion. Based on the transient phase-matching mechanism of high-order harmonic generation, short and long trajectories contributing to the same harmonic order are distinguishable in both the spatial and frequency domains, giving rise to a one-to-one map between time and photon energy for each trajectory. The short and long trajectories in H2 and D2 are used simultaneously to retrieve the nuclear dynamics on the attosecond and angstrom scale. Compared to using only short trajectories, this extends the temporal range of the measurement to one optical cycle. The experiment is also applied to methane and ammonia molecules.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2015

Quenching effect in below-threshold high harmonic generation

We theoretically demonstrate the quenching effect in below-threshold high harmonic generation (HHG) by using the time-dependent density-functional theory (TDDFT) and solving the time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation (TDSE). It is shown that the HHG is substantially suppressed in particular harmonic orders in the below-threshold region when multi-electron interaction comes into play. The position of the suppression is determined by the energy gap between the highest occupied orbital and the higher-lying orbital of the target. We show that the quenching effect is due to a new class of multi-electron dynamics involving electron-electron energy transfer, which is analog to the fluorescence quenching owing to the energy transfer between molecules in fluorescent material. This work reveals the important role of the multi-electron interaction on HHG especially in the below-threshold region.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2015

Selective enhancement of resonant multiphoton ionization with strong laser fields

High-resolution photoelectron momentum distributions of Xe atoms ionized by 800-nm linearly polarized laser fields have been traced at intensities from 1.1*1013 to 3.5*1013W/cm2 using velocity-map imaging techniques. At certain laser intensities, the momentum spectrum exhibits a distinct double-ring structure for low-order above-threshold ionization, which appears to be absent at lower or higher laser intensities. By investigating the intensity-resolved photoelectron energy spectrum, we find that this double-ring structure originates from resonant multiphoton ionization involving multiple Rydberg states of atoms. Varying the laser intensity, we can selectively enhance the resonant multiphoton ionization through certain atomic Rydberg states. The photoelectron angular distributions of multiphoton resonance are also investigated for the low-order above-threshold ionization.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2014

Revisiting the tunnelling site of electrons in strong field enhanced ionization of molecules

We investigated electron emissions in strong field enhanced ionization of asymmetric diatomic molecules by quantum calculations. It is demonstrated that the widely-used intuitive physical pic- ture, i.e., electron wave packet direct ionization from the up-field site (DIU), is incomplete. Besides DIU, we find another two new ionization channels, the field-induced excitation with subsequent ionization from the down-field site (ESID), and the up-field site (ESIU). The contributions from these channels depend on the molecular asymmetry and internuclear distance. Our work provides a more comprehensive physical picture for the long-standing issue about enhanced ionization of diatomic molecules.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2012

Classical simulations including electron correlations for sequential double ionization

With a classical ensemble model that including electron correlations during the whole ionization process, we investigated strong-field sequential double ionization of Ar by elliptically polarized pulses at the quantitative level. The experimentally observed intensity-dependent three-band or four-band structures in the ion momentum distributions are well reproduced with this classical model. More importantly, the experimentally measured ionization time of the second electrons [A. N. Pfeiffer et al., Nature Phys. 7, 428 (2011)], which can not be predicted by the standard independent-electron model, is quantitatively reproduced by this fully classical correlated model. The success of our work encourages classical description and interpretation of the complex multi-electron effects in strong field ionization where nonperturbative quantum approaches are currently not feasible.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2010

Asymmetric electron energy sharing in strong-field double ionization of helium

With the classical three-dimensional ensemble model, we have investigated the microscopic recollision dynamics in nonsequential double ionization of helium by 800 nm laser pulses at 2.0 PW/cm^2. We demonstrate that the asymmetric energy sharing between the two electrons at recollision plays a decisive role in forming the experimentally observed V-shaped structure in the correlated longitudinal electron momentum spectrum at the high laser intensity [Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 263003 (2007)]. This asymmetric energy sharing recollision leaves footprints on the transverse electron momentum spectra, which provide a new insight into the attosecond three-body interactions.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2010

The Role of Nuclear Coulomb Attraction in Nonsequential Double Ionization of Argon Atom

The role of nucleus in strong-field nonsequential double ionization of Ar atoms is investigated using three-dimensional classical ensembles. By adjusting the nuclear Coulomb potential, we can excellently reproduce the experimental correlated electron and ion momentum spectra with laser intensities above the recollision threshold [Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 263001 (2004)] and below the recollision threshold [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 053001 (2008)] quantitatively. Analysis reveals the detailed electronic dynamics when the nuclear Coulomb attraction plays a key role in the recollision process of nonsequential double ionization of Ar atoms. Comparison between our results for Ar and those for He shows that atom species have a strong influence on nonsequential double ionization.

physics.atom-ph↗