Atom in electromagnetic field of near-atomic strength

Abstract

Ionization and high-harmonics generation in a single hydrogen-like atom driven by a laser pulse of near-atomic field strength is the subject of this paper. We use exact solutions of the eigenvalue problem on particle motion in the cylindrically symmetric field (CSF) as a basis for the wave-function expansion. The superposition of the spherically symmetric intra-atomic field and linearly polarized laser field has the cylindrical symmetry. Hence, the use of the free-atom eigenfunctions as a basis for the wave-function expansion requires an infinitely increasing number of spherical harmonics (i.e., free-atom eigenfunctions) when the laser field strength approaches the intra-atomic field value. The eigenfunctions of the CSF problem depend on the laser field strength; therefore, the appropriate matrix elements show how the spectral width of atomic response and angular selection rules vary with increase in the laser field strength. The introduction gives a phenomenological semiclassical illustration of the problem.