Observation of correlated electronic decay in expanding clusters triggered by near-infrared fields
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
When an excited atom is embedded into an environment, novel relaxation pathways can emerge that are absent for isolated atoms. A well-known example is interatomic Coulombic decay, where an excited atom relaxes by transferring its excess energy to another atom in the environment, leading to its ionization. Such processes have been observed in clusters ionized by extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray lasers. Here, we report on a correlated electronic decay process that occurs following nanoplasma formation and Rydberg atom generation in the ionization of clusters by intense, non-resonant infrared laser fields. Relaxation of the Rydberg states and transfer of the available electronic energy to adjacent electrons in Rydberg states or quasifree electrons in the expanding nanoplasma leaves a distinct signature in the electron kinetic energy spectrum. These so far unobserved electron-correlation-driven energy transfer processes may play a significant role in the response of any nano-scale system to intense laser light.
Date Issued
2015-10-15
Date Acceptance
2015-09-09
Citation
Nature Communications, 2015, 6
ISSN
2041-1723
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
Nature Communications
Volume
6
Copyright Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Sponsor
German Research Foundation
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
POLARIZATION-PROPAGATOR
CROSS-SECTION
LASER-PULSES
IONIZATION
ATOMS
PHOTOIONIZATION
GENERATION
EXCITATION
ARGON
GAS
MD Multidisciplinary
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
8596