Laser-Assisted Photoelectric Effect from Liquids

The laser-assisted photoelectric effect from liquid surfaces is reported for the first time. Photoelectrons generated by 35.6 eV radiation from a liquid microjet of water under vacuum are dressed with (h) over bar omega = 1.55 eV laser field. The subsequent redistribution of the photoelectron energies consists in the appearance of sidebands shifted by energies equivalent to (h) over bar omega, 2 (h) over bar omega, and 3 (h) over bar omega. The response has been modeled to the third order and combined with energy-resolved measurements. This result opens the possibility to investigate the dynamics at surfaces of liquid solutions and provide information about the electron emission process from a liquid.