The role of Rydberg and continuum levels in computing high harmonic generation spectra of the hydrogen atom using time-dependent configuration interaction
- Laboratoire de Chimie Théorique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris (France)
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA and Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
We study the role of Rydberg bound-states and continuum levels in the field-induced electronic dynamics associated with the High-Harmonic Generation (HHG) spectroscopy of the hydrogen atom. Time-dependent configuration-interaction (TD-CI) is used with very large atomic orbital (AO) expansions (up to L= 4 with sextuple augmentation and off-center functions) to describe the bound Rydberg levels, and some continuum levels. To address the lack of ionization losses in TD-CI with finite AO basis sets, we employed a heuristic lifetime for energy levels above the ionization potential. The heuristic lifetime model is compared against the conventional atomic orbital treatment (infinite lifetimes), and a third approximation which is TD-CI using only the bound levels (continuum lifetimes go to zero). The results suggest that spectra calculated using conventional TD-CI do not converge with increasing AO basis set size, while the zero lifetime and heuristic lifetime models converge to qualitatively similar spectra, with implications for how best to apply bound state electronic structure methods to simulate HHG. The origin of HHG spectral features including the cutoff and extent of interference between peaks is uncovered by separating field-induced coupling between different types of levels (ground state, bound Rydberg levels, and continuum) in the simulated electronic dynamics. Thus the origin of deviations between the predictions of the semi-classical three step model and the full simulation can be associated with particular physical contributions, which helps to explain both the successes and the limitations of the three step model.
- OSTI ID:
- 22220368
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 139, Issue 16; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
High-resolution pulsed field ionization photoelectron study of O{sub 2}: Predissociation lifetimes and high-n Rydberg lifetimes converging to O{sub 2}{sup +}(cthinsp{sup 4}{Sigma}{sub u}{sup {minus}},thinspv{sup +}=0,1)
Simulating Electron Dynamics of Complex Molecules with Time-Dependent Complete Active Space Configuration Interaction