Laser Polarization Orientations in (e, 2e) Reactions in Atoms

Second-order Born calculations are performed to investigate the triple differential cross sections of coplanar asymmetric laser-assisted (e, 2e) collisions for hydrogen and helium targets. The incident electron is considered to be dressed by the laser field in a nonperturbative manner by choosing the Volkov solutions in both the initial and final channels. Detailed calculations of the scattering amplitudes are performed using the Sturmian basis expansion. The state of the ejected electron is described by a Coulomb–Volkov wave function. Two geometries are investigated in which the laser polarization vector is either parallel to the incident momentum of the projectile or parallel to the momentum transfer. Our numerical results show that, in the low energy range, these two laser polarization orientations give the same shape and the same order of magnitude of laser-assisted ionization cross sections of helium and hydrogen targets.