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Two XUV-photon double ionization of Ne, induced by an intense few-pulse attosecond train with a ~ 4 fs envelope duration is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experiment is performed at ELI-ALPS utilizing the recently constructed 10 Hz gas phase high-order harmonic generation SYLOS GHHG-COMPACT beamline. A total pulse energy up to ~1 {\mu}J generated in Argon in conjunction with high reflectivity optics in the XUV region, allowed the observation of the doubly charged state of Ne induced by 40 eV central XUV photon energies. The interaction of the intense attosecond pulse train with Ne is also theoretically studied via a second-order time dependent perturbation theory equations-of-motion. The results of this work, combined with the feasibility of conducting XUV-pump-XUV-probe experiments, constitute a powerful tool for many potential applications. Those include attosecond pulse metrology as well as time resolved investigations of the dynamics underlying direct and sequential double ionization and their electron correlation effects. more...

Strong-field photoemission from nanostructures and the associated temporally modulated currents play a key role in the development of ultrafast vacuum optoelectronics. Optical light fields could push their operation bandwidth into the petahertz domain. A critical aspect for their functionality in the context of applications is the role of charge interactions, including space charge effects. Here, we investigated the photoemission and photocurrents from nanometric tungsten needle tips exposed to carrier-envelope phase-controlled few-cycle laser fields. We report a characteristic step-wise increase in the intensity-rescaled cutoff energies of emitted electrons beyond a certain intensity value. By comparison with simulations, we identify this feature as the onset of charge-interaction dominated photoemission dynamics. Our results are anticipated to be relevant also for the strong-field photoemission from other nanostructures, including photoemission from plasmonic nano-bowtie antennas used in carrier-envelope phase-detection and for PHz-scale devices., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures more...

We present a novel approach to single-shot characterization of the spectral phase of broadband laser pulses. Our method is inexpensive, insensitive to alignment and combines the simplicity and robustness of the dispersion scan technique, that does not require spatio-temporal pulse overlap, with the advantages of single-shot pulse characterization methods such as single-shot frequency-resolved optical gating at a real-time reconstruction rate of several Hz. more...

We investigate the interaction of Xe with isolated attosecond XUV pulses. Specifically, we calculate the ion yields and determine the pathways leading to the formation of ionic charged states up to Xe$^{5+}$. To do so, in our formulation we account for single-photon absorption, sequential multi-photon absorption, direct two-photon absorption, single and double Auger decays, and shake-off. We compare our results for the ion yields and for ion yield ratios with recent experimental results obtained for 93 eV and 115 eV attosecond XUV pulses. In particular, we investigate the role that a sequence of two single-photon ionization processes plays in the formation of Xe$^{4+}$. We find that each one of these two processes ionizes a core electron and thus leads to the formation of a double core-hole state. Remarkably, we find that the formation of Xe$^{5+}$ involves a direct two-photon absorption process and the absorption of a total of three photons., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures more...

We demonstrate a novel method to measure the temporal evolution of electric fields with optical frequencies. Our technique is based on the detection of transient currents in air plasma. These directional currents result from sub-cycle ionization of air with a short pump pulse, and the steering of the released electrons with the pulse to be sampled. We assess the validity of our approach by comparing it with different state-of-the-art laser-pulse characterization techniques. Notably, our method works in ambient air and facilitates a direct measurement of the field waveform, which can be viewed in real time on an oscilloscope in the exact same way as a radio frequency signal. more...

The ability to measure and control the carrier envelope phase (CEP) of few-cycle laser pulses is of paramount importance for both frequency metrology and attosecond science. Here, we present a phase meter relying on the CEP-dependent photocurrents induced by circularly polarized few-cycle pulses focused between electrodes in ambient air. The new device facilitates compact single-shot, CEP measurements under ambient conditions and promises CEP tagging at repetition rates orders of magnitude higher than most conventional CEP detection schemes as well as straightforward implementation at longer wavelengths. more...

The development of ultra-short intense laser sources in the visible and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range led to fascinating studies in laser-matter interactions and attosecond science. In the majority of these studies the system under investigation interacts with a focused laser beam, which ionizes the system. The ionization products are usually measured by devices, which spatiotemporally integrate the ionization signal originating from the entire focal area, discarding in this way valuable information about the ionization dynamics that take place in the interaction volume. Here, we review a recently developed approach in measuring the spatially resolved photoionization yields resulting from the interaction of infrared (IR)/XUV ultra-short laser pulses in gas phase media. We show how this approach enables a) the in-situ focus diagnostic, b) quantitative studies of linear and non-linear ionization processes in the IR/XUV regime, c) single-shot XUV-pump-XUV-probe studies and d) single-shot 2nd-order XUV autocorrelation measurements. The article has been published in J. Opt. 20, 024018 (2018) (doi.org/10.1088/2040-8986/aaa326)., Comment: 32 pages, 13 figures more...

At intensities below-the-recollision threshold, we show that re-collision-induced excitation with one electron escaping fast after re-collision and the other electron escaping with a time delay via a Coulomb slingshot motion is one of the most important mechanisms of non-sequential double ionization, for strongly-driven He at 400 nm. Slingshot-NSDI is a general mechanism present for a wide range of low intensities and pulse durations. Anti-correlated two-electron escape is its striking hallmark. This mechanism offers an alternative explanation of anti-correlated two-electron escape obtained in previous studies., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures more...

We investigate the carrier-envelope phase and intensity dependence of the longitudinal momentum distribution of photoelectrons resulting from above-threshold ionization of argon by few-cycle laser pulses. The intensity of the pulses with a center wavelength of 750\,nm is varied in a range between $0.7 \times 10^{14}$ and $\unit[5.5 \times 10^{14}]{W/cm^2}$. Our measurements reveal a prominent maximum in the carrier-envelope phase-dependent asymmetry at photoelectron energies of 2\,$U_\mathrm{P}$ ($U_\mathrm{P}$ being the ponderomotive potential), that is persistent over the entire intensity range. Further local maxima are observed at 0.3 and 0.8\,$U_\mathrm{P}$. The experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical results obtained by solving the three-dimensional time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation (3D TDSE). We show that for few-cycle pulses, the carrier-envelope phase-dependent asymmetry amplitude provides a reliable measure for the peak intensity on target. Moreover, the measured asymmetry amplitude exhibits an intensity-dependent interference structure at low photoelectron energy, which could be used to benchmark model potentials for complex atoms. more...

A three-dimensional semiclassical model is used to study double ionization of Ar when driven by a near-infrared and near-single-cycle laser pulse for intensities ranging from 0.85$\times$10$^{14}$ W/cm$^{2}$ to 5$\times$10$^{14}$ W/cm$^{2}$. Asymmetry parameters, distributions of the sum of the two electron momentum components along the direction of the polarization of the laser field and correlated momenta are computed as a function of intensity and of the carrier envelope phase. A very good agreement is found with recently obtained results in kinematically complete experiments employing near-single-cycle laser pulses. Moreover, the contribution of the direct and delayed pathways of double ionization is investigated for the above observables. Finally, an experimentally obtained anti-correlation momentum pattern at higher intensities is reproduced with the three-dimensional semiclassical model and shown to be due to a transition from strong to soft recollisions with increasing intensity., Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures more...

Proton migration is a ubiquitous process in chemical reactions related to biology, combustion, and catalysis. Thus, the ability to control the movement of nuclei with tailored light, within a hydrocarbon molecule holds promise for far-reaching applications. Here, we demonstrate the steering of hydrogen migration in simple hydrocarbons, namely acetylene and allene, using waveform-controlled, few-cycle laser pulses. The rearrangement dynamics are monitored using coincident 3D momentum imaging spectroscopy, and described with a quantum-dynamical model. Our observations reveal that the underlying control mechanism is due to the manipulation of the phases in a vibrational wavepacket by the intense off-resonant laser field., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures more...

The tunnelling of an electron through a suppressed atomic potential followed by its motion in the continuum, is the fundamental mechanism underlying strong-field laser-atom/molecule interactions. Due to its quantum nature, the interaction is governed by the phase of the released electron wave-packets. Thus, detailed mapping of the electron wave-packet interferences provides essential insight into the physics underlying the interaction. A process which is providing access to the intricacies of the interaction is the generation of high order harmonics of the laser frequency. The phase-amplitude distribution of the emitted extreme-ultraviolet (EUV), carries the complete information about the harmonic generation process and vice-versa. Thus, the visualization of the EUV-spatial-amplitude-distribution, as it results from interfering electron wave-packet contributions, is of crucial importance. Restrictions to this accomplishment are due to the spatially integrating measurement approaches applied so far, that average out the phase effects in the generation process. In this work, we demonstrate a method which overcomes this obstacle. An EUV-spatial-amplitude-distribution-image is induced from the imprint on the measured spatial distribution of ions, produced through EUV-photon ionization of atoms. Interference extremes in the image carry phase information about the interfering electron wave-packets. The present approach provides detailed insight on the strong-field laser-atom interaction mechanism, while establishing the era of phase selective interaction studies. Furthermore, it paves the way for substantial enhancement of the spectral and temporal precision of measurements by in-situ controlling the phase distribution of the emitted radiation and/or spatially selecting the EUV-radiation-atom interaction products., Comment: 13 pages main text with 4 figures, 7 pages supporting material with 3 figures more...