title: Suppression of multiple ionization of atomic ions in intense ultrafast laser pulses.
abstract: The interaction of an intense laser field with a beam of atomic ions has been investigated experimentally for the first time. The ionization dynamics of Ar+ ions and Ar neutrals in a 60 fs, 790 nm laser pulse have been compared and contrasted at intensities up to 10(16) W cm-2. Our results show that nonsequential ionization from an Ar+ target is strongly suppressed compared with that from the corresponding neutral target. We have also observed for the first time the strong field ionization of high lying target metastable levels in the Ar+ beam.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Greenwood
authors.forename: I M G
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McKenna
authors.forename: I D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: T R J
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Goodworth
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sanderson
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.forename: A A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: El-Zein
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Newell
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Langley
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Divall