Displacement effect in strong-field atomic ionization by an XUV pulse

Abstract

We study strong-field atomic ionization driven by an XUV pulse with a nonzero displacement, the quantity defined as the time integral of the pulse vector potential taken over the pulse duration. The use of such pulses may lead to an extreme sensitivity of the ionization process to subtle changes of a driving XUV pulse, in particular, the ramp-on and off profile and the carrier envelope phase. We illustrate this sensitivity for atomic hydrogen and lithium driven by few-femtosecond XUV pulses with intensity in the 1014W/cm2 range. The observed effect is general and should modify strong-field ionization of any atom or molecule, provided the ionization rate is sufficiently high. Show more