The process of resonant multiphoton ionization of a hydrogen atom in the ground 1 s state is studied by direct numerical integration of the nonstationary Schrödinger equation for a quantum system in an electromagnetic field. The dependence of photoionization probability on the radiation intensity is found to be nonmonotonic. It is established that the minima of ionization correspond to multiphoton resonances between the ground state and one of the excited (Rydberg) atomic states perturbed by the laser field. It is shown that ionization is suppressed due to rearrangement of Rydberg states in a strong electromagnetic field and is accompanied by efficient Raman Λ transitions, which connect a set of closely lying Rydberg states via the continuum.
Rydberg-state excitation of atoms in strong infrared laser fields provides a new complementary aspect of the perspective of atom--strong field interactions. In this article, we perform an experimental and theoretical study on the corresponding process of diatomic molecules,
N2 and
O2. We show that neutral molecules can also survive strong 800-nm laser fields in high Rydberg states, while their behavior is remarkably different in comparison with their companion atoms, Ar and Xe. The Rydberg excitation of
N2 generally behaves similarly to Ar, while that of
O2 is more significantly suppressed than the ionization compared to Xe in a high intensity region, which can be understood in the frame of a semiclassical picture, together with their different structures of molecular orbitals. However, distinct quantum features in the Rydberg excitation processes that are apparently beyond the semiclassical picture have been identified, i.e., the less suppressed probability of
O2 at low intensity and the oscillation behavior of the ratio between
N2 and Ar, indicating that our understanding of the relevant physics is still far from complete.
We have measured the energy spectrum of photoelectrons emitted in multiphoton ionization of atoms by a short-pulse, tunable laser. The spectrum shows prominent resonances, confirming the observations of Freeman et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1092 (1987)]. The study of the position and intensity of such resonances, as a function of laser wavelength and intensity, probes the structure of the atom in the presence of the strong electromagnetic field and allows their spectroscopic assignment. A systematic study of the ac Stark shift of one of the resonances, the 7s[3/2]\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} level of xenon, is presented.