Freiburg 2024 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 13: Interaction with Strong or Short Laser Pulses II (joint session A/MO)

MO 13.8: Talk

Wednesday, March 13, 2024, 16:15–16:30, HS 1010

Axially Polarized Photoelectrons in Strong-Field Ionization — •Pei-Lun He, Zhao-Han Zhang, Karen Z. Hatsagortsyan, and Christoph H. Keitel — Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

The spin effects in strong-field ionization induced by a linearly polarized laser field are investigated, demonstrating that the photoelectrons exhibit axial polarization relative to the laser polarization axis typically. While the total polarization vanishes upon averaging over the photoelectron momentum, significant momentum-resolved spin polarization is found. The polarization originates from the spin-orbit coupling in the bound state, establishing a correlation between the orbital angular momentum and the spin of the valence shell electron. Consequently, the correlation extends to the spin and the initial transverse velocity of the photoelectron at the tunnel exit. The electron trajectories are thus spin-dependent and are scattered into different directions upon recollisions, resulting in the entanglement of the angular distribution with the electron spin. Furthermore, the interference between direct and rescattered electrons leads to the feasibility of spin-polarized electron holography, offering structural information about the atom.

Keywords: spin polarization; strong-field ionization; holography