Electron distribution function in short-pulse photoionization

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Abstract
Two well-known limiting regimes of photoionization, when a laser beam interacts with a gas, correspond to the tunneling and the multiphoton processes. The latter dominates in the low-intensity regime, while the former is appropriate at higher intensities. Electrons are born with negligible velocity in tunneling ionization, while in l-photon ionization they are born with a fixed energy determined by l, the photon energy and the ionization potential of the molecule. The transport equation for the distribution function of electrons can be integrated along the characteristics defined by the classical equations of motion in the laser field. Expressions for the distribution function have been obtained in the two regimes using the appropriate analytical form for the ionization rate. Results from two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations and illustrative plots of the distribution function are presented and discussed.

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