Polarization Effects in Attosecond Photoelectron Spectroscopy

We study the influence of polarization effects in streaking by combined atto- and femtosecond pulses. The polarization-induced terms alter the streaking spectrum. The conventional streaking spectrum, which maps to the vector potential of the femtosecond pulse, is modified by a contribution following the field instead. We show that polarization effects may lead to an apparent temporal shift that needs to be properly accounted for in the analysis. The effect may be isolated and studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy from oriented polar molecules. We also show that polarization effects will lead to an apparent temporal shift of 50 as between photoelectrons from a 2p and 1s state in atomic hydrogen. ©2010 The American Physical Society