Dynamics of hydrogenic wave packets in electric and magnetic fields

Abstract

The survival probability P(t) of hydrogenic wave packets for some choices of strong external electric and magnetic fields is studied. The recursive residue generation method, in combination with complex dilation and a Laguerre basis, is used to calculate the local density of states from which P(t) is computed via a Fourier transform. P(t) is calculated both for a single initial ‖8p0〉 state and for an initial radial hydrogenic wave packet centered around n=15. In the first case only, in principle, a single n manifold is involved in the dynamics, while in the latter case several n manifolds contribute. The different choices of initial states lead to significantly different results. The choice of fields was made in order to exemplify various patterns of behavior. Results similar to those obtained here were found in recent experiments by Broers and co-workers [Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 344 (1993); Phys. Rev. A 49, 2498 (1994)]. The results presented in this work are quantum-mechanical calculations of hydrogenic wave packets in strong fields that include the effect of finite lifetimes on P(t).