Collective effects in laser multiphoton ionization

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Abstract
The time-space behavior of the charges produced in typical laser multiphoton ionization experiments is analyzed from the point of view of the fluid approximation. On the basis of analytic methods, first the equation system describing the one-dimensional motion of a single-charged fluid in an external uniform and constant electric field is solved. It is shown that the solution can be extended to the three-dimensional case, also including momentum-exchange collisions and time-varying electric field and temperature. Moreover, the method is extended to analyze the motion of both ions and electrons, coupled by the self-generated electric field. Finally, the consequences on the time-space behavior of the collected current, in typical multiphoton ionization experiments, are pointed out and the range of validity also discussed.