Title: Non-Sequential Double-Ionization of N2 in a Near Single-Cycle Laser Pulse

M. Kubel[1], Nora G. Kling[1,2], K.J. Betsch [1,2,3], N. Camus[4], A. Kaldun[4], U. Kleineberg[5], I. Ben-Itzhak[2], R.R. Jones[3], G.G. Paulus[6,7], T. Pfeifer[4], J. Ullrich[4,8], R. Moshammer[4], M.F. Kling [1,2], and B. Bergues [1],

[1] Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Garching 85748, Germany

[2] J.R. MacDonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506,USA

[3] University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA

[4] Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik, Heidelberg, 69117, Germany

[5] Department fur Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, D-85748 Garching, Germany

[6] Institut für Optik und Quantenelektronik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena, 07743, Germany

[7] Helmholtz Institut Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany

[8] Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig D-38116, Germany

Abstract:

We present a comparative study of non-sequential double-ionization (NSDI) of N2 and Ar exposed to near single-cycle laser pulses. The NSDI process is investigated using carrier-envelope phase-tagged electron-ion coincidence spectroscopy. The measured NSDI spectra of N2 and Ar exhibit a striking resemblance. In particular, the correlated two-electron momentum distribution arising from NSDI of N2 also displays a cross-shape characteristic very similar to the one reported for Ar [Bergues et al., Nature Commun. 3, 813(2012)]. We interpret our results in terms of recollision-excitation with sub-cycle depletion and discuss how this mechanism accounts for the observed similarities and differences in the ionization behavior of the two species.

Status: Published Physical Review A 88, 023418 (2013).