Momentum distributions of sequential ionization generated by an intense laser pulse

Abstract

The relative yield and momentum distributions of all multiply charged atomic ions generated by a short (30 fs) intense (1014-5×1018 W/cm2) laser pulse are investigated using a Monte Carlo simulation. We predict a substantial shift in the maximum (centroid) of the ion-momentum distribution along the laser polarization as a function of the absolute phase. This effect should be experimentally detectable with currently available laser systems even for relatively long pulses, such as 25-30 fs. In addition to the numerical results, we present semianalytical scaling for the position of the maximum. © 2011 American Physical Society.