Abstract
Recently, using midinfrared laser-induced electron diffraction (LIED), snapshots of a vibrating diatomic molecule on a femtosecond time scale have been captured [C.I. Blaga et al., Nature (London) 483, 194 (2012)]. In this Letter, a comprehensive treatment for the atomic LIED response is reported, a critical step in generalizing this imaging method. Electron-ion differential cross sections (DCSs) of rare gas atoms are extracted from measured angular-resolved, high-energy electron momentum distributions generated by intense midinfrared lasers. Following strong-field ionization, the high-energy electrons result from elastic rescattering of a field-driven wave packet with the parent ion. For recollision energies [greater or equal] 100eV, the measured DCSs are indistinguishable for the neutral atoms and ions, illustrating the close collision nature of this interaction. The extracted DCSs are found to be independent of laser parameters, in agreement with theory. This study establishes the key ingredients for applying LIED to femtosecond molecular imaging.
Recommended Citation
J. Xu and C. I. Blaga and A. D. Dichiara and E. Sistrunk and K. Zhang and Z. Chen and A. Le and T. Morishita and C. D. Lin and P. Agostini and L. F. Dimauro, "Laser-Induced Electron Diffraction for Probing Rare Gas Atoms," Physical Review Letters, vol. 109, no. 23, American Physical Society (APS), Dec 2012.
The definitive version is available at https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.233002
Department(s)
Physics
Keywords and Phrases
Critical Steps; Diatomic Molecules; Differential Cross Section; Electron Ions; Femtosecond Time Scale; Femtoseconds; High-Energy Electron; Imaging Method; Laser Induced; Laser Parameters; Midinfrared; Midinfrared Lasers; Neutral Atoms; Rare Gas Atoms; Recollision; Rescattering; Strong Field Ionization, Atoms; Elastic Scattering; Electron Diffraction; Ions; Molecular Imaging, Lasers
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
0031-9007
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Final Version
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2012 American Physical Society (APS), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
01 Dec 2012
PubMed ID
23368191
