Freiburg 2024 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 33: Poster VI

A 33.21: Poster

Thursday, March 14, 2024, 17:00–19:00, Tent A

Quantum orbit simulations of above-threshold ionization (ATI) on nanometric tips with few-cycle pulses — •Timo Wirth and Peter Hommelhoff — Lehrstuhl für Laserphysik, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen

When nanometric tips are exposed to light in the strong field regime, electrons in the tip are ionized through tunnel ionization (step 1). The free electrons are then driven in the laser field (step 2). While most of these electrons will not return to the tip (direct electrons), a fraction is driven back to the tip and elastically scatters at the tip surface (step 3). This rescattering process can be understood classically within the three-step model. Classical simulations can give insights into the rescattering process, but a quantum-mechanical approach allows deeper insights. This can be done with the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE). However, TDSE simulations often do not allow a good qualitative understanding of the results. Such an understanding can be gained from quantum orbit simulations. The quantum orbit theory is based on the strong-field approximation (SFA) and includes the crucial quantum mechanics ab initio. We discuss the results of quantum orbit simulations of the ATI process at nanometric needle tips.

Keywords: above-threshold ionization; rescattering; quantum orbit theory; nanometric tip; few-cycle pulse