Strong-Field Electron Dynamics in Solids

Solid-state materials have recently emerged as a new stage of strong-field physics and attosecond science. The mechanism of the electron dynamics driven by an ultrashort intense laser pulse is under intensive discussion. Here we theoretically discuss momentum-space strong-field electron dynamics in graphene and crystalline dielectrics and semiconductors. First, within massless Dirac fermion and tight-binding models for graphene, we rigorously derive intraband displacement and interband transition, which form the basis for understanding solid-state strong-field physics including high-harmonic generation (HHG). Then, based on the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a one-dimensional model crystal, we introduce a simple, multiband, momentum-space three-step model that incorporates intraband displacement, interband tunneling, and recombination with a valence band hole. We also analyze how the model is modified by electron-hole interaction. Finally, actual three-dimensional materials are investigated. We present a time-dependent density-matrix method whose results for HHG are compared with experimental measurement results. Moreover, we describe the dynamical Franz-Keldysh effect in femtosecond time resolution, i.e., the time-dependent modulation of a dielectric function under an intense laser field, using a real-time time-dependent density functional theory.

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