Direct manipulation of atomic excitation with intense extreme-ultraviolet laser fields

Abstract

The coherent excitation and manipulation of a two-level system with ultrashort intense extreme-ultraviolet laser fields is investigated theoretically, based on numerically solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation. We are particularly interested in the dynamical phase excursion of the energy states over the course of the interaction and the resulting spectral modifications. Fitting the absorption line shapes with the Fano profile quantifies the asymmetry parameter and the corresponding dipole phase offset, capturing the phase difference of the state coefficients after the interaction. Nonperturbative analytical calculations using rectangular driving pulses are employed, yielding physical insights into the dependence of the dipole phase shift on the external field. The validity of the formulas is validated by comparing their predictions with numerical results, which proves to be robust against the variation of laser parameters. The present investigation of strong-field dressing effects complements recent attosecond transient absorption studies assuming weak excitation, and marks a ubiquitous phenomenon that should be generally considered for the interaction of matter with intense laser fields.