Eye on ionization: Visualizing and controlling bound electron dynamics in strong laser fields

(PhysOrg.com) — Subatomic events can be remarkably counterintuitive. Such is the case in theoretical physics when, under certain specific conditions, atoms exposed to intense infrared laser pulses remain stable rather than undergoing the ionization expected from electric fields at least as strong as the electrostatic forces binding the irradiated valence electrons. Inspired by the observed acceleration of neutral atoms1, and other recent experiments2, researchers at the Max-Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics in Berlin have shown that, in theory, angular resolved photoelectron spectroscopy can be used to directly image these so-called laser-dressed stable atoms.

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Eye on ionization: Visualizing and controlling bound electron dynamics in strong laser fields