2021/10/08 by Kang Lin, S. Eckart, Lin, Kang +19
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #Atomic and Molecular Physics #FOS: Physical sciences #Laser Design and Applications #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2110.04027
openalex publication_date 2021/10/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The photoelectric effect describes the ejection of an electron upon absorption of one or several photons. The kinetic energy of this electron is determined by the photon energy reduced by the binding energy of the electron and, if strong laser fields are involved, by the ponderomotive potential in addition. It has therefore been widely taken for granted that for atoms and molecules the photoelectron energy does not depend on the electron's emission direction but theoretical studies have questioned this since 1990. Here we provide experimental evidence, that the energies of photoelectrons emitted against the light-propagation direction are shifted towards higher values while those electrons that are emitted along the light-propagation direction are shifted to lower values. We attribute the energy shift to a nondipole contribution from the interaction of the moving electrons with the incident photons.