Photoelectron angular distributions from strong-field coherent electronic excitation.

Photoelectron Angular Distributions (PADs) resulting from nonperturbative excitation of potassium atoms using shaped femtosecond laser pulses are presented. We study control exerted by (1) the polarization of an unshaped, i.e., a bandwidth-limited light pulse, (2) shaped linearly polarized light, and (3) a combination of both degrees of freedom, i.e., polarization-shaped laser pulses. A theoretical approach to describe PADs from nonperturbative Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization (REMPI) with ultrashort polarization-shaped laser pulses is presented and compared to experimental results. Applications of this technique to the generation and observation of atomic ring currents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]