Siegert-state expansion for nonstationary systems. IV. Three-dimensional case

Abstract

The Siegert-state expansion approach [O. I. Tolstikhin, Phys. Rev. A 73, 062705 (2006)] is extended to the three-dimensional case. Coupled equations defining the time evolution of coefficients in the expansion of the solution to the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation in terms of partial-wave Siegert states are derived, and physical observables (probabilities of transitions to discrete states and the momentum distribution of ejected particles) are expressed in terms of these coefficients. The approach is implemented in terms of Siegert pseudostates and illustrated by calculations of the photodetachment of ${\text{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ by strong high-frequency laser pulses. The present calculations demonstrate that the interference effect in the laser-atom interaction dynamics found recently in the one-dimensional case [K. Toyota et al., Phys. Rev. A 76, 043418 (2007)] reveals itself in the three-dimensional case as well.