Carrier-envelope-phase effects and V-like structure in nonsequential double ionization by elliptical polarization

Abstract The nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) of atom is revisited by elliptically polarized few-cycle laser pulse with the classical ensemble method. We focus on the events that both electrons emit into the same direction along the long and short axis of the laser polarization plane, and how do the correlated electron momentum spectra of these two events depends on the carrier-envelope-phase (CEP). We first exhibit that the double-ionization probability has a negligible dependence on CEP. Back analysis shows that the ionization dynamics of the second electron are strongly depend on the CEP, which is significantly responsible for the CEP-dependent correlated electron momentum spectra. Besides, the correlated electron momentum spectrum along the long axis of the laser polarization plane reproduces the so-called V-like structure (also called the figurelike structure) observed in experiments [A. Staudte, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 263002 (2007); A. Rudenko, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 263003 (2007)]. We sort the V-like shape into two regions and find that the different regions exhibit significantly different dynamics behaviors. Simultaneously, we demonstrate that the electron pairs emitted into the same direction along the short axis of the laser polarization plane is a result of the nuclear–electron attraction, and both the nuclear–electron attraction and e–e repulsion significantly contribute to the V-like structure.