Stabilization of circular Rydberg atoms by circularly polarized infrared laser fields

Abstract

The ionization dynamics of circular Rydberg states in strong circularly polarized infrared (800 nm) laser fields is studied by means of numerical simulations with the time-dependent Schr\odinger equation. We find that at certain intensities, related to the radius of the Rydberg states, atomic stabilization sets in, and the ionization probability decreases as the intensity is further increased. Moreover, there is a strong dependence of the ionization probability on the rotational direction of the applied laser field, which can be understood from a simple classical analogy.