Spin polarized electrons produced by strong field ionization

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that strong infrared circularly polarized laser fields can produce highly spin-polarized electrons from noble gases, revealing a new method for generating spin-polarized electron beams.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism for achieving near 100% spin polarization in electrons via strong field ionization with circularly polarized light.

Findings

Electrons with up to 100% spin polarization are produced.

Spin polarization depends on electron-core entanglement and initial state rotation.

The method works under standard experimental conditions.

Abstract

We show that ionization of noble gas atoms by strong infrared circularly polarized laser field under standard exerimental conditions can yield electrons with up to 100% spin polarization in energy resolved measurements. Spin polarization arises due to the interplay of the electron-core entanglement and the sensitivity of ionization in circularly polarized fields to the sense of electron rotation in the initial state.