Rydberg Atomic Antenna in Strongly Driven Multi-Electron Atoms

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Rydberg states act as atomic antennas in strong laser fields, revealing that rescattering processes induce significant coherence between spin-orbit split states in xenon.

Contribution

It demonstrates, through ab initio simulations, that field-driven rescattering of Rydberg electrons creates substantial coherence between spin-orbit channels, a novel insight into multi-electron strong-field dynamics.

Findings

Rescattering induces coherence exceeding 10% between spin-orbit states.

Rydberg states facilitate efficient coupling in strong laser fields.

Coherence is enhanced near resonant laser frequencies.

Abstract

We study the role of intermediate excitations of Rydberg states as an example of Kuchiev's "atomic antenna" in above-threshold ionization of xenon, in particular their effect on the coherence between the spin-orbit-split states of the ion. We focus on the case of a laser frequency close to resonant with the spin-orbit splitting, where a symmetry (parity) argument would preclude any coherence being directly generated by strong-field ionization. Using ab initio simulations of coupled multielectron spin-orbit dynamics in strong laser fields, we show how field-driven rescattering of the trapped Rydberg electrons introduces efficient coupling between the spin-orbit-split channels, leading to substantial coherences, exceeding 10 % for some photon energies.