Photoionization in the presence of circularly polarized fundamental and odd-order harmonic fields

Abstract

We present a study of the photoelectron spectra for the ionization process driven by counterrotating and corotating circularly polarized fundamental and odd-order harmonic fields. The main features of the spectra, such as symmetric lobed structures, are understood using simple arguments based on the strong field approximation (SFA) picture of ionization. A deviation from this picture is, most notably, the presence of the low-energy structures (LES) in the spectra. We show that the Rydberg states populated as a result of the combined absorption of the photons from the fundamental and harmonic fields are responsible for the origin of LES.