# Fluorescence polarization as a precise tool for understanding nonsequential many-photon ionization

## TL;DR

This paper explores how fluorescence polarization can serve as a precise probe for nonsequential two-photon ionization of atomic inner shells, revealing unexpected polarization changes at specific energies that challenge existing expectations.

## Contribution

It introduces fluorescence polarization measurement as a novel, highly sensitive method to study nonlinear ionization processes, especially at resonant energies where traditional methods are less effective.

## Key findings

- Discovered significant polarization changes at specific beam energies.
- Identified the sensitivity of polarization degree to theoretical details.
- Proposed fluorescence polarization as a precise tool for nonlinear ionization analysis.

## Abstract

Nonsequential two-photon ionization of inner-shell $np$ subshell of neutral atoms by circularly polarized light is investigated. Detection of subsequent fluorescence as a signature of the process is proposed and the dependence of fluorescence degree of polarization on incident photon beam energy is studied. It is generally expected that the degree of polarization remains approximately constant, except when the beam energy is tuned to an intermediate $n's$ resonance. However, strong unexpected change in the polarization degree is discovered for nonsequential two-photon ionization at specific incident beam energy due to a zero contribution of the otherwise dominant ionization channel. Polarization degree of the fluorescence depends less on the beam parameters and its measurements at this specific beam energy, whose position is very sensitive to the details of the employed theory, are highly desirable for evaluation of theoretical calculations of nonlinear ionization at hitherto unreachable accuracy.