Nonresonant multiphoton ionization of noble gases: Theory and experiment

Abstract

The absolute yield of multiply charged ions of the noble gases argon, krypton, and xenon as a function of laser intensity at =586 nm is reported. The measurements were performed with a well characterized picosecond dye laser in the range 1013 to 4×1014 W/cm2. Charge states up to Ar+4, Kr+5, and Xe+6 were observed at the highest intensities. An extension of the Keldysh-Reiss-Faisal theory which accounts for the Coulomb field of the residual ion is presented and found to be in good agreement with the experimental results with no adjustable parameters. © 1988 The American Physical Society.