Analysis of correlations in strong field ionization

Abstract

We propose to use correlation function analysis as a tool for the study of strong field ionization. We show, in particular, that study of the correlations of electron's coordinate and velocity reveals patterns which can be naturally interpreted as manifestations of the electron's exit point (the spatial point where the electron exits the tunneling barrier). This analysis provides an unambiguous definition of the exit point. The location of the exit point thus determined agrees well with the estimates used in the semiclassical simulations.