Above-threshold ionization beyond the dipole approximation

Abstract

A generalization of the analytical theory of above-threshold ionization in the single active electron approximation is developed while taking into account leading non-dipole and relativistic corrections in the starting Hamiltonian. Special interest is placed on the high energy part of the photoelectron spectrum which consists of a plateau and a characteristic cutoff. It is shown that the correction due to the magnetic component of the laser field gives rise to a decrease of the plateau height, an increase of the maximal cutoff energy, and a drift of the emitted electrons in propagation direction of the laser field. Furthermore, the influence of the relativistic mass shift may become non-neglible by reducing the cutoff energy significantly. Spin effects or the Zitterbewegung play a comparably minor role in the investigated parameter regime of suboptical frequencies and high but not ultra-high laser intensities.