Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-14-2014

Abstract

We analyze, quantum mechanically, the dynamics of atomic ionization with a strong, circularly polarized, laser field. We show that the main source for non-adiabatic effects, defined as the deviations from the static-field configuration with corresponding instantaneous amplitude, is connected to an effective barrier lowering due to the laser frequency. Such non-adiabatic effects manifest themselves through ionization rates and yields that depart up to more than one order of magnitude from a static-field configuration which we take as a reference for comparison. As a rule of thumb, such non-adiabatic manifestations get stronger with increasing laser frequency. Beyond circular polarization and atomic targets, these results show the limits of standard instantaneous - static-field like - interpretation of laser-matter interaction and the great need for including time-dependent electronic dynamics.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics

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