Research

Our group's research focus is set on the investigation of atomic ionization dynamics in strong laser fields, where the laser intensities cover a range from 10¹⁴ W/cm² to 10¹⁹ W/cm². Earlier research highlights embrace results on simultaneous double tunneling, suppression of non-sequential ionization in relativistic laser fields, and core relaxation effects in relativistic laser fields. More recently, the focus of our investigations has shifted towards strong-field processes that lead to a) excited neutral atoms, b) neutral excited fragments after strong-field dissociation of molecules, and c) high survival rates of Rydberg atoms. Moreover, the survival of atoms in neutral excited states is accompanied by kinematic effects on neutral atoms in the focused laser beam, which we investigate using a direct imaging technique of excited atoms.

The figure shows the color-coded distribution of deflected (accelerated) neutral He atoms in a focused short-pulse laser beam with an intensity of 8x10¹⁵W/cm².