Asymmetric High-Energy Ion Emission from Argon Clusters in Intense Laser Fields

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Clusters of 2×10³ to 4×10⁴ Ar atoms are Coulomb exploded in intense (up to 8×10¹⁵Wcm^-2) laser fields. The dependence of multiply charged argon ion energies on the polarization state of light is probed. A directional asymmetry in the ion-explosion energies is observed for the highest charge states. The ion-energy distribution consists of a low-energy isotropic component, and a high-energy anisotropic one. The results are discussed in terms of an asymmetric Coulomb-explosion scenario.