Ultrafast electron dynamics and inner-shell ionization in laser driven clusters
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0339i (United States)
The ionization dynamics of small rare-gas clusters in intense, ultrafast laser fields are studied via classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulations. Our results indicate that for similar laser pulses the charge states reached by atoms in a cluster can be significantly higher than those for atoms in the gas phase. The ionization enhancement is strongly dependent on the cluster density and exhibits a rapid increase in charge state once the laser intensity has reached the threshold for single ionization. This {open_quotes}ionization ignition model{close_quotes} is driven by the combination of the laser field and the strong field from the ionized cluster atoms. Approximate atomic inner-shell ionization probabilities are calculated for several cluster densities and peak laser intensities and provide evidence for the generation of inner-shell holes on an ultrafast time scale. This is a necessary condition for the generation of x-ray pulses with temporal widths comparable to that of the driving laser pulses. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
- OSTI ID:
- 489263
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review A, Journal Name: Physical Review A Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 55; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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