Origin of unexpected low energy structure in photoelectron spectra induced by midinfrared strong laser fields

Using a semiclassical model which incorporates tunneling and Coulomb field effects, the origin of the low-energy structure (LES) in the above-threshold ionization spectrum observed in recent experiments [Blaga, Nature Phys. 5, 335 (2009); Quan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 093001 (2009).] is identified. We show that the LES arises due to an interplay between multiple forward scattering of an ionized electron and the electron momentum disturbance by the Coulomb field immediately after the ionization. The multiple forward scattering is mainly responsible for the appearance of LES, while the initial disturbance mainly determines the position of the LES peaks. The scaling laws for the LES parameters, such as the contrast ratio and the maximal energy, versus the laser intensity and wavelength are deduced.