Laser-Phase Dependence for Electron Capture in Laser-Assisted Proton -- Hydrogen Collisions

Thomas Niederhausen, Uwe Thumm
( James R. MacDonald Laboratory, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-2604, USA)

We calculate electron capture probabilities for ion--atom collisions in a strong laser field ($5\times10^{13}~\mathrm{W/cm^2}$) by numerically solving the 3-dimensional time--dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation. For circularly polarized laser fields and an impact energy of $1.2~\mathrm{keV}$, we find a substantial modification of the electronic dynamics in the $p$--$H$ collision system as compared to field-free collisions. In particular, we observe a strong dependence on the laser phase and the impact parameter for electron capture, which can be explained using semi-classical arguments.

This work was supported by the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division,
Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy.

Submitted to DAMOP, May 2006 in Knoxville, TN.