Mainz 2026 – scientific programme

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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik

MO 6: Attosecond physics I (joint session A/MO)

MO 6.2: Talk

Monday, March 2, 2026, 17:30–17:45, N 1

Observation of sub-cycle ponderomotive acceleration via near-field-induced low-energy stripes (NILES) — •L. Seiffert¹, J. Heimerl², S. Meier², A. Herzig¹, F. Lòpez Hoffmann², D.M.B. Lesko², S. Hillmann², S. Wittigschlager², T. Weitz², T. Fennel^1,3, and P. Hommelhoff^2,4 — ¹Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, Germany — ²Department of Physics, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany — ³Department of Life, Light and Matter, University of Rostock, Germany — ⁴Faculty of Physics, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich, Germany

Ponderomotive acceleration of electrons in strong fields is typically regarded as a cylce-averaged effect and hence mostly associated with long pulses. However, recently, subcycle sensitivity of the ponderomotive acceleration effect has been reported for electrons injected into the strong near-field gradient of a sharp metal tip by a few-cycle optical waveform [1]. In this talk the recent observation of this effect which manifests in the direct electrons part of carrier-envelope-phase-dependent electron spectra in the form of near-field-induced low-energy stripes (NILES) will be discussed from a theoretical point of view. These stripes allow the tracking of direct and rescattered electron emissions on subcycle timescales and provide access to the electron momentum width at emission.
[1] J. Heimerl at al., Nat. Phys. (2025)

Keywords: strong-field physics; photoemission; metal nanotip; ponderomotive acceleration