Strong-Field Photoelectron Interferometry with Near-Single-Cycle Yb Lasers

Area of Science:

• Quantum optics
• Atomic and molecular physics
• Laser science

Background:

• Photoelectron interferometry has long been proposed for probing electron dynamics and target structures.
• Experimental limitations, primarily laser pulse instability, have hindered quantitative analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the first strong-field ionization experiments using stable, industrial-grade Ytterbium (Yb) lasers.
• To demonstrate the capability of near-single-cycle laser pulses for enhanced photoelectron interferometry.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing carrier-envelope-phase stabilized, near-single-cycle Yb lasers for strong-field ionization.
• Measuring photoelectron momentum distributions in the direct-ionization regime.
• Comparing experimental results with semiclassical and ab initio simulations.

Main Results:

• Single-cycle cosine-shaped pulses effectively separate and enhance holographic structures (spider-leg and fishbone).
• Spider-leg structures allow extraction of electron scattering phase from atomic potentials.
• Fishbone structures reveal orbital-parity differences between atoms and molecules.

Conclusions:

• Industrial-grade Yb lasers provide unprecedented data quality for photoelectron interferometry.
• This technique offers a pathway to precision studies of electron-molecule scattering.
• The findings pave the way for advanced attosecond metrology applications.