Generalized analytical description of relativistic strong-field ionization

A relativistic analytical theory of strong-field ionization applicable across the regimes of deep tunneling up to over-the-barrier ionization (OTBI) is developed, accounting also for the bound-state polarization and the Stark shift beyond perturbation theory. The latter improvement with respect to the state-of-the-art quasiclassical theory of Perelomov-Popov-Terent'ev (PPT) for strong-field ionization is essential to describe analytically the ionization in the OTBI regime and to resolve the order-of-magnitude discrepancy of the ionization yield in the relativistic regime with respect to PPT theory that has remained unexplained since the numerical result using the Klein-Gordon equation of Hafizi []. The predictions of the present relativistic model, in deviation to PPT theory, are shown to be observable using ultrashort laser pulses of relativistic intensities. Published by the American Physical Society 2024