Control of atomic dynamics in laser-assisted electron-atom scattering through the driving-laser ellipticity

Authors

A. V. Flegel, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
M. V. Frolov, Voronezh State University, RussiaFollow
N. L. Manakov, Voronezh State University, RussiaFollow
Anthony F. Starace, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
A. N. Zheltukhin, Voronezh State University, Voronezh, Russia

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

3-2013

Citation

PHYSICAL REVIEW A 87, 033414 (2013); DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.87.033414

Comments

Copyright © 2013 American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

Orders of magnitude increases of the cross sections are predicted for laser-assisted low-energy electron-atom scattering (accompanied by absorption of laser photons) as the laser ellipticity is increased. These ellipticity-controlled enhancements are manifestations of the field-free electron-atom scattering dynamics, such as the Ramsauer-Townsend effect in low-energy elastic electron-atom scattering. The strong sensitivity of laser-assisted scattering cross sections to this dynamics and the laser ellipticity is illustrated for e-Ne and e-Ar scattering in both midinfrared (λ = 3.5 μm) and CO₂ (λ = 10.6 μm) laser fields of moderate intensities.