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Attosecond control of spin polarization in electron–ion recollision driven by intense tailored fields

Ayuso, David; Jiménez-Galán, Alvaro; Morales, Felipe; Ivanov, Misha; Smirnova, Olga

Tunnel ionization of noble gas atoms driven by a strong circularly polarized laser field in combination with a counter-rotating second harmonic generates spin-polarized electrons correlated to the spin-polarized ionic core. Crucially, such two-color field can bring the spin-polarized electrons back to the parent ion, enabling the scattering of the spin-polarized electron on the spin-polarized parent ion. Here we show how one can control the degree of spin polarization as a function of electron energy and recollision time by tuning the laser parameters, such as the relative intensities of the counter-rotating fields. The attosecond precision of the control over the degree of spin polarization opens the door for attosecond control and spectroscopy of spin-resolved dynamics.
Published in: New Journal of Physics, 10.1088/1367-2630/aa732f, IOP