Coherence and interference in a Rydberg atom in a strong laser field: excitation, ionization, and emission of light
Mikhail Vladimirovich Fedorov, Misha Ivanov
Excitation and photoionization of Rydberg wave packets are described. Interference of bound-free transitions from many coherently populated Rydberg levels is shown to affect the dependence of the photoionization probability on the duration of interaction. Strong-field interference effects in such a system are described also. The most important of these is the field-induced interference stabilization of Rydberg atoms in a strong ionizing field. The intensity range in which this effect can exist is determined. The results derived are used for a qualitative model describing supercontinuum emission in the process of multiphoton ionization.
Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Apr 1, 1990•47 citations