Studying the universality of field induced tunnel ionization times via high-order harmonic spectroscopy

High-harmonic generation spectroscopy is a promising tool for resolving electron dynamics and structure in atomic and molecular systems. This scheme, commonly described by the strong field approximation, requires a deep insight into the basic mechanism that leads to the harmonic generation. Recently, we have demonstrated the ability to resolve the first stage of the process-field induced tunnel ionization-by adding a weak perturbation to the strong fundamental field. Here we generalize this approach and show that the assumptions behind the strong field approximation are valid over a wide range of tunnel ionization conditions. Performing a systematic study-modifying the fundamental wavelength, intensity and atomic system-we observed a good agreement with quantum path analysis over a range of Keldysh parameters. The generality of this scheme opens new perspectives in high harmonics spectroscopy, holding the potential of probing large, complex molecular systems.