Abstract

Since its discovery in 1982 by L'Huillier and coworkers [1], non-sequential double ionization (NSDI) of atoms in strong laser fields has been the subject of numerous experimental and theoretical studies. Yet, the mechanisms that govern this process are not fully understood. Advances in ultra-fast laser technology have permitted the generation of light pulses with durations close to a single optical cycle [2], which can be used to study quantum dynamics with attosecond time resolution. Using a reaction microscope (REMI) in combination with the recently developed single-shot carrier-envelope phase (CEP) measurement technique [3], we investigate the sub-cycle dynamics of the NSDI process in argon and neon atoms exposed to near single-cycle laser pulses.

© 2011 Optical Society of America