We present calculations showing that ionization of XeN (N=108-1524) clusters by intense femtosecond lasers is governed by two mechanisms that have their origin in molecular and plasma physics, respectively. Optimal-control calculations show that a three-pulse sequence optimizes cluster ionization and involves both enhanced ionization and resonant driving of collective electron oscillations. As a result we can understand how ionization in intense laser fields evolves from small molecules to large clusters

doi.org/10.1103/physreva.72.053202
Phys. Rev. A

Marchenko, T., Siedschlag, C., Zamith, S., Muller, H. G., & Vrakking, M. J. J. (2005). Optimal control of femtosecond laser-cluster interactions. Phys. Rev. A, 72(Article number: 53202), 1–12. doi:10.1103/physreva.72.053202