Abstract

Laser induced electron recollision, where an electron is first liberated from an atom or molecule by an intense laser field, and then accelerated by the same field so that it returns close to the core with a high kinetic energy, is a central concept in strong-field physics [1]. Given that a lot of interesting atomic and molecular physics has been investigated with recolliding electrons, it is natural to try to extend the recollision scheme to heavier particles such as protons. If we could make a proton recollide with another nucleus at a kinetic energy of around 1 MeV or above, various nuclear reactions could be triggered, with attosecond temporal control of the collision event.

© 2014 Japan Society of Applied Physics, Optical Society of America