skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Solution of the many-electron many-photon problem for strong fields: Application to Li{sup -} in one- and two-color laser fields

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
 [1];  [1]
  1. Theoretical and Physical Chemistry Institute, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vasileos Constantinou Avenue, Athens 11635 (Greece)

The solution of the many-electron many-photon (MEMP) problem for strong fields is facilitated if the corresponding theory entails a computational methodology that combines economy with accuracy and generality, as regards electronic structure and the incorporation of the continuous spectrum. By applying the nonperturbative MEMP theory (MEMPT) to the prototypical Li{sup -} {sup 1}S state, where both radial and angular correlations in the initial state and interchannel couplings in the final scattering states cannot be ignored, we computed frequency-dependent widths {gamma}({omega}) of multiphoton detachment, as well as energy shifts {delta}({omega}), for intensities 1x10{sup 9}-1x10{sup 11} W/cm{sup 2}, using one- as well as two-color fields. Even though the 1s{sup 2}2p {sup 2}P{sup o} threshold is kept energetically closed, its coupling to the open channel 1s{sup 2}2s {sup 2}S cannot be ignored. For the two-color MEMP problem, the present application of the MEMPT provides results for a four-electron system, whereby the self-consistent field, electron correlation, and interchannel coupling are taken into account. The results for ({omega}, 3{omega}) laser fields exhibit the recently predicted [Th. Mercouris and C.A. Nicolaides, Phys. Rev. A 63, 013411 (2001)] linear dependence of the rate on cos {phi}, where {phi} is the phase difference of the two weak fields. Based on this and on lowest-order perturbation theory (LOPT), we obtain a quantity characteristic of the system atom plus fields, which we name the 'interference generalized cross section'. For the one-color system, comparison is made with our previous conclusions [C.A. Nicolaides and Th. Mercouris, Chem. Phys. Lett. 159, 45 (1989); J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 7, 494 (1990)] and with results from recent calculations of the two- and three-photon detachment rates by Glass et al. [J. Phys. B 31, L667 (1998)], who implemented R-matrix Floquet theory, and by Telnov and Chu [Phys. Rev. A 66, 043417 (2002)], who implemented time-dependent density-functional theory in the Floquet formulation via exterior complex scaling. Similarities as well as discrepancies are observed. Our results for {gamma}({omega}) and {delta}({omega}) involve a dense set of values as a function of {omega} and provide a clear picture of the physics below, at, and above the 3{yields}2 photon threshold.

OSTI ID:
20639784
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Vol. 67, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.67.063403; (c) 2003 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English