Strong-field frustrated double ionization of argon atoms

Abstract

Using a three-dimensional semiclassical method, we theoretically investigate frustrated double ionization (FDI) of Ar atoms subjected to strong laser fields. The double-hump photoelectron momentum distribution generated from FDI observed in a recent experiment [S. Larimian et al., Phys. Rev. Research 2, 013021 (2020)] is reproduced by our simulation. We confirm that the observed spectrum is due to recollision. The laser intensity dependence of FDI is investigated. We reveal that the doubly excited states of Ar atoms and excited states of Ar+ are the dominant pathways for producing FDI at relatively low and high intensities, respectively. Our work demonstrates that at modest intensities, FDI is a general strong-field physical process accompanied with nonsequential double ionization and it is an important consequence of recollision.