Multiple ionization of argon via xuv-photon absorption induced by 20-gigawatt high-harmonic pulses.

We report the observation of multiple ionization of argon through multi-XUV-photon absorption induced by an unprecedentedly powerful laser driven high-order harmonic generation source. Comparing the measured intensity dependence of the yield of the different argon charge states with numerical calculations we can infer the different channels-direct and sequential-underlying the interaction. While such studies were feasible so far only with free electron laser (FEL) sources, this paper connects highly nonlinear XUV processes with the ultrashort time scales inherent to the harmonic pulses and highlights the advanced perspectives of emerging large scale laser research infrastructures.