Open AccessStrong-field-induced single and double ionization dynamics from single and double excitations in a two-electron atom
Author(s) -
Gergana Dimitrova Borisova,
Veit Stooß,
Andreas Dingeldey,
Andreas Kaldun,
Thomas Ding,
Paul Birk,
Maximilian Hartmann,
Tobias Heldt,
Christian Ott,
Thomas Pfeifer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of physics communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2399-6528
DOI - 10.1088/2399-6528/ab6175
Subject(s) - excited state , atomic physics , ionization , electron , atom (system on chip) , double ionization , population , physics , field (mathematics) , ion , quantum mechanics , demography , mathematics , sociology , computer science , pure mathematics , embedded system
Two-electron dynamics of an excited model atom interacting with moderately strong laser fields is analyzed in the time domain. We solve the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) for two electrons confined to the same one-dimensional configuration space, accounting also for the electron-electron interaction. The computational method allows direct access to the time-dependent population of the relevant atomic states during and right after the interaction with a near-infrared (NIR) laser pulse. We compare the ionization dynamics of singly excited states and doubly excited states. We find that doubly-excited initial states exhibit enhanced double ionization yield, with non-trivial dynamics including contributions from direct and sequential processes, while the electrons leave the atom either back-to-back or in the same direction.