Elliptical polarization and probability of double ionization.
The degree of elliptical polarization of intense short laser pulses is shown to be related to the timing of strong-field nonsequential double ionization. Higher ellipticity is predicted to force the initiation of double ionization into a narrower time window, and this "pins" the ionizing field strength in an unexpected way, leading to the first experimentally testable formula for double ionization probability as a function of ellipticity.
Wang
Xu
X
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester Theory Center, Rochester, New York 14627, USA. wangxu@pas.rochester.edu
Eberly
J H
JH