Slow-Down Collisions and Nonsequential Double Ionization in Classical Simulations

We use classical simulations to analyze the dynamics of nonsequential double-electron short-pulse photoionization. We utilize a microcanonical ensemble of ${10}^5$ two-electron “trajectories,” a number large enough to provide large subensembles and even sub-subensembles associated with double ionization. We focus on key events in the final doubly ionized subensemble and back-analyze the subensemble’s history, revealing a classical slow-down scenario for nonsequential double ionization. We analyze the dynamics of these slow-down collisions and find that a good phase match between the motions of the electrons can lead to very effective energy transfer, followed by escape over a suppressed barrier.