Quantitative theory for the lateral momentum distribution after strong-field ionization

We investigate theoretical models for the lateral width of the electron momentum distribution after recollision-free strong-field ionization of atoms. We review the derivation of the tunneling formula and demonstrate that the pre-exponential factor in the saddle-point approximation cannot be neglected if quantitative results are desired. We calculate the widths for hydrogen as well as argon and neon atoms. We compare to results from the time-dependent Schrodinger equation, and to the experimental results from [L. Arissian, C. Smeenk, F. Turner, C. Trallero, A.V. Sokolov, D.M. Villeneuve, A. Staudte, P. B. Corkum, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105 (2010) 133002]. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.