Above-Threshold Ionization of Xenon by Chirped Intense Laser Pulses

We experimentally investigate above-threshold ionization of xenon subject to chirped intense laser pulses. While for few-cycle laser pulses free of chirp, the Freeman resonance narrow peaks in the photoelectron spectra become strongly suppressed, they will re-emerge for laser pulses with a certain chirp. Moreover, the position of the resonant peaks exhibits a strong dependence on the direction of the chirp. The experimental features can be understood by a two-step ionization process; that is, a multi-photon excitation plus subsequent ionization process.