Intensity and Polarization Effects in Short-Pulse Multiphoton Ionization of Xenon

We present photoelectron spectra (PES) of xenon subject to ultrashort intense laser pulses at 400 nm. The intensity-dependent PES exhibit the dominance of ac-Stark-shifted multiphoton resonances in a multiphoton ionization process. A distinct difference in the spectra with different laser polarization states (i.e., linearly and circularly polarized states) is revealed and can be understood in terms of the quantum selection rule, which restricts the angular momentum of states that may shift into multiphoton resonances. Furthermore, the intensity dependence of the resonance-enhanced electron yield is analyzed in the context of multiphoton Landau–Zener theory. The model calculation results considering the focal volume effect are in good agreement with the experimental observation.