Low-energy electron rescattering in laser-induced ionization

The low-energy structure (LES) in the energy spectrum of above-threshold ionization of rare-gas atoms is reinvestigated from three different points of view. First, the role of forward rescattering in the completely classical simple-man model (SMM) is considered. Then, the corresponding classical electronic trajectories are retrieved in the quantum-mechanical ionization amplitude derived in the strong-field approximation augmented to allow for rescattering. Third, classical trajectories in the presence of both the laser field and the Coulomb field are scrutinized in order to see how they are related to the LES. It is concluded that the LES is already rooted in the SMM. The Coulomb field enhances the structure so that it can successfully compete with other contributions and become visible in the total spectrum.