The ellipticity dependence of Rydberg state excitation of noble gas atoms subject to strong laser fields

In this work, we theoretically investigate the ellipticity dependence of the Rydberg state excitation (RSE) and ionization of noble gas atoms subject to strong laser fields at a series of intensities and wavelengthes by a semiclassical model, where the nonadiabtic effect is considered or ignored. Our results demonstrate that, if the nonadiabatic effect has been ignored, the ratio between RSE and ionization yields exhibits an anomalous maximum at a nonzero ellipticity. On the other hand, if the nonadiabatic effect has been considered, this anomalous behavior disappears. The analysis indicates that the absence of this anomalous behavior can be attributed to the nonadiabatic corrections of instantaneous ionization rate and the initial photoelectron momentum distribution at the tunnel exit.

Automated summary

In this study, we investigate the effect of the ellipticity on the excitation and ionization of noble gas atoms in strong laser fields. We use a semiclassical model to analyze the results at different intensities and wavelengths, considering or ignoring the nonadiabatic effect. Our findings reveal that the ratio between excitation and ionization yields shows an anomalous maximum at nonzero ellipticity when nonadiabatic effect is ignored, but this anomalous behavior disappears when nonadiabatic effect is considered. This can be attributed to the nonadiabatic corrections of instantaneous ionization rate and the initial photoelectron momentum distribution at the tunnel exit.