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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 18: Interaction with Strong or Short Laser Pulses I (joint session A/MO)

A 18.1: Hauptvortrag

Mittwoch, 4. März 2026, 14:30–15:00, N 2

Cross-process interference in single-cycle electron emission from metal needle tips — •Anne Herzig¹, Peter Hommelhoff², Eleftherios Goulielmakis¹, Thomas Fennel¹, and Lennart Seiffert¹ — ¹Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock, Germany — ²Faculty of Physics, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, 80799 Munich, and Department of Physics, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

Photoelectron spectra from strong-field ionization exhibit energy cutoffs and interference patterns from direct and backscattered electrons. While cutoffs at 2 U_p and 10 U_p follow from the three-step model, observed fringe structures are usually linked to interference within either emission channel. However, cross-process interference (CPI) between direct and backscattered electrons remains largely unexplored. With single-cycle pulses limiting emission to one optical cycle [1] and nanotips directing electrons into a single half-space [2], conditions arise under which CPI can be clearly resolved.

In our recent study [3], we predict carrier-envelope-phase-dependent spectra with clear CPI signatures by comparing TDSE simulations with a trajectory model extended by quantum interference. The resulting fringe pattern encodes sub-cycle information on the near-field acceleration dynamics, highlighting CPI as a promising route toward ultrafast solid-state photoemission metrology.

[1] M.T. Hassan et al., Nature 530, 66-70 (2016)

[2] S. Zherebtsov et al., Nature Physics 7, 656-662 (2011)

[3] A. Herzig et al., https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.01524 (2025)

Keywords: strong-field ionization; single-cycle pulses; nanotips; interference