Photoionization in combined ultra short XUV and infrared laser pulses

Multi-photon-double ionization of xenon by Ti:Sapphire laser pulses combined with their 25th harmonic has been studied by means of a momentum imaging spectrometer. The determination of the momenta of the emitted photoelectron pair and of its energy and angular correlation gives insight into the various mechanisms leading to double ionization. Although the conditions for non sequential direct multi-photon double ionization are met in the experiment, it is found that two-step sequential processes prevail.