0000000000026203
AUTHOR
F. Trombetta
Multiphoton-ionization transition amplitudes and the Keldysh approximation.
The Keldysh approximation to treat the multiphoton ionization of atoms is reconsidered. It is shown that, if one consistently uses the hypothesis under which the approximation should be valid (essentially, that of a weak, short-range binding potential), a Keldysh-like term results as an approximation to the first term of a uniformly convergent series in powers of the binding potential. No cancellation occurs when higher-order terms are taken into account. This result allows one to consider the Keldysh approximation as a well-defined theoretical model, without implying, however, that it is adequate to describe multiphoton ionization of real atoms.
New Results on Multiphoton Free-Free Transitions
Recently some of the present authors have reported on calculations concerning free-free transitions in the presence of very strong laser fields,1 in which a number of peculiar features were clearly displayed (among others, well pronounced maxima in the total cross sections and an oscillatory structure). In particular, those calculations concerned total cross sections of direct and inverse multiphoton bremsstrahlung, for several numbers of exchanged photons as functions of the field intensity. Figs. 1 and 2 show a sample of the typical results reported in Ref. 1.
Analytical evaluation of integrals occurring in bound-free transitions.
A class of three-dimensional integrals on spatial coordinates of the type occurring in treatments of multiphoton ionization of atoms and of other bound-free transitions is evaluated in closed form for both hydrogenic and Slater-type wave functions. The reported method of evaluation is illustrated with a number of examples, including the multiphoton ionization of hydrogen by a very intense laser field, when the ejected electrons have absorbed more photons than the minimum required to reach the continuum.
Strong-field high-frequency approximation to the multiphoton ionization of hydrogen
The strong-field multiphoton ionization of atoms is considered and a theoretical approach dealing nonperturbatively with the radiation field formulated. The general computational scheme is the conventional perturbation theory, but the intermediate states are dressed by the field. We present in detail a method to dress the continuum states and to study the dipole transitions within the continuum. In the high-frequency domain, the proposed procedure rapidly converges over a wide range of field intensity and offers an interesting framework for calculating ionization rates for arbitrary numbers of absorbed (above-threshold) photons and field polarization.
Second-order approximations to laser-assisted charged-particle scattering.
Multiphoton free-free transitions within a full second-order treatment of the scattering potential are considered with two specific aims: (i) to test some widely used approximations against exact calculations; (ii) to present differential cross sections for the laser-assisted positron scattering, in the regime of intermediate field intensities (up to ${10}^{13}$ W/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$). In the case of a field linearly polarized along the incident particle momentum, the results clearly discriminate among the approximations, setting interesting limitations to each of them as functions of the scattering potential features and of the field parameters. Each approach shows good performance for par…
Multichannel Multiphoton Ionization of the Hydrogen Atom by a Chaotic Field: Role of the Polarization
This contribution is concerned with the theory of ionization of atoms by strong laser fields, when ionization channels of different photon multiplicity are simultaneously open. Presently, this process is attracting a lot of attention, from both the experimental and theoretical sides.
Nonperturbative treatments of nonresonant multiphoton ionization of the hydrogen atom: weak-field limit
A nonperturbative treatment of the multiphoton ionization of the hydrogen atom based on the S matrix and devised for nonresonant strong-field situations is analyzed in the weak-field limit. Comparisons are presented with other S matrices as well as other nonperturbative approaches. Our treatment is found to perform generally better than similar S-matrix treatments. The usual perturbative results are recovered provided that the photon wavelengths are sufficiently short and are off resonance with the atomic transitions. Important indications are obtained as to the role of the atomic structure, the relevance of the gauge consistency, and the reliability and improvement of the present nonpertur…
Potential scattering transitions in a strong chaotic non-Markovian radiation field.
Theorie non relativiste de la diffusion par un potentiel en presence d'un champ laser intense, fluctuant en amplitude et en phase, a l'approximation de Born. Calcul des largeurs et profils de raies et des facteurs de coherence en fonction de l'intensite du laser
Laser Pulse Effects in Two-level Systems Driven by Coherent and Fluctuating Radiation Fields
Abstract We reconsider the problem of a two-level system interacting with a radiation field in order to study some new features suggested by the actual experimental conditions. Pulse shape and duration effects are included in the formalism and the counter-rotating terms are retained. The criterion of validity of the rotating wave approximation (RWA) for pulsed fields is investigated; generalizing results well known in RWA, we establish some new formal results, including non-RWA contributions to all orders and for any pulse shape. The analysis is then carried out for fluctuating fields, by developing a method based on the theory of multiplicative stochastic differential equations. For short …
Multiphoton One-step Ionization of Helium at 1064 nm
Abstract The multiphoton ionization of helium by a strong radiation field having a wavelength of 1064 nm and a field intensity up to 5 × 1014 W cm −2 is considered within a non-perturbative treatment partially accounting for the electron-electron correlations in the initial bound state and approximately for the Coulomb interaction between the residual ion and the ejected electron in the final state. Only single-electron transitions are considered, the main emphasis being on the field polarization effects. The obtained results are compared with the few results available in the literature in the same regime as well as with very recent experimental findings. In particular, the calculated photo…