Retrieval of Parameters of Few-Cycle Laser Pulses from High-Energy Photoelectron Spectra of Atoms by a Genetic Algorithm

According to the quantitative rescattering theory, the laser features are imbedded in the returning electron wave packets. By analyzing high-energy photoelectron wave packets on the two sides of the linearly polarization axis we can retrieve the experimental laser pulse irrespective of the atomic targets. Laser parameters including its carrier-envelope phase, pulse duration, and peak intensity can be retrieved within a small range simultaneously from the output of the genetic algorithm. This is a simple direct retrieval method for characterizing a phase-stabilized few-cycle laser pulse based only on one set of photoelectron spectra.