Above-threshold ionization photoelectron spectrum from quantum trajectory

TL;DR

This paper introduces Bohmian mechanics to analyze above-threshold ionization in atoms, deriving quantum trajectories that produce ATI spectra consistent with prior results, highlighting the role of quantum potential.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach using Bohmian mechanics to study ATI, emphasizing the importance of quantum potential in reproducing experimental spectra.

Findings

Quantum trajectories from Bohmian mechanics match experimental ATI spectra.

Quantum potential significantly influences the ATI spectrum.

Bohmian approach offers new insights into quantum phenomena in laser-atom interactions.

Abstract

Many nonlinear quantum phenomena of intense laser-atom physics can be intuitively explained with the concept of trajectory. In this paper, Bohmian mechanics (BM) is introduced to study a multiphoton process of atoms interacting with the intense laser field: above-threshold ionization (ATI). Quantum trajectory of an atomic electron in intense laser field is obtained from the Bohm-Newton equation first and then the energy of the photoelectron is gained from its trajectory. With energies of an ensemble of photoelectrons, we obtain the ATI spectrum which is consistent with the previous theoretical and experimental results. Comparing BM with the classical trajectory Monte-Carlo method, we conclude that quantum potential may play a key role to reproduce the spectrum of ATI. Our work may present a new approach to understanding quantum phenomena in intense laser-atom physics with the image of trajectory.