Propensity rules and interference effects in laser-assisted photoionization of helium and neon

Abstract

We investigate the angle-resolved photoelectron spectra from laser-assisted photoionization for helium and neon atoms using an ab initio method based on time-dependent surface flux and configuration interaction singles. We find that the shape of the distributions can be interpreted using a propensity rule, an intrinsic difference in the absorption and the emission processes, as well as interference effects between multiple paths to the final angular momentum state. The difference between absorption and emission is hidden in the first sideband in neon due to the multiple competing m channels, while in the second sideband a qualitative difference between absorption and emission is observed. In the m-resolved case, a clear difference is observed already in the first sideband, as exemplified in helium and m-resolved neon.