Resonant dynamic Stark shift as a tool in strong-field quantum control: calculation and application for selective multiphoton ionization of sodium.

A method for determining the resonant dynamic Stark shift (RDSS), based on wave-packet calculations of the populations of quantum states, is presented. It is almost insensitive to variations of the laser pulse profile, and this feature ensures generality in applications. This method is used to determine an RDSS data set for 3s → nl (n ≤ 6) transitions in sodium induced by laser pulses with peak intensities up to 7.9 × 1012 W cm-2 and wavelengths in the range from 455.6 to 1139 nm. The data are applied to analyze the photoelectron spectra (electron yield versus excess energy) of the sodium atom interacting with 800 nm laser radiation. Substructures observed in the experimentally measured spectra are successfully reproduced and related to the resonantly enhanced multiphoton ionization via specific (P and F) intermediate states.

Suppression of decoherence in fast-atom diffraction at surfaces.

Scattering of fast neutral atoms with keV kinetic energies at alkali-halide surfaces under grazing angles displays intriguing diffraction patterns. The surprisingly strong persistence of quantum coherence despite the impulsive interaction with an environment at solid state density and elevated temperatures raises fundamental questions such as to the suppression of decoherence and of the quantum-to-classical crossover. We present an ab initio simulation of the quantum diffraction of fast helium beams at a LiF (100) surface in the 110 direction and compare with recent experimental diffraction data. From the quantitative reconstruction of diffraction images the vertical LiF-surface reconstruction, or buckling, can be determined.

On the relation between quantum lifetimes and classical stability for the systems with a saddle-type potential.

Relations between quantum-mechanical and classical properties of open systems with a saddle-type potential, for which at a given energy only one unstable periodic orbit exists, are studied. By considering the convergence of the Gutzwiller trace formula [J. Math. Phys. 12, 343 (1971)] it is confirmed that both for homogeneous and inhomogeneous potentials the poles of the formula are located below the real energy axis, i.e., these kind of potentials do not support bound states, in general. Within the harmonic approximation the widths of resonant (transition) states are proportional to the values of Lyapunov exponent of the single periodic orbit calculated at the energies which are equal to the resonance positions. The accuracy of the semiclassical relation is discussed and demonstrated for several examples.

Calculations of periodic orbits: The monodromy method and application to regularized systems.

We describe a numerical method for calculating periodic orbits, which is a generalization of the monodromy method by Baranger et al. to the case of an arbitrary autonomous dynamical system. Two variants of the method are developed, using the midpoint and the Runge-Kutta discretization of equations of motion, respectively. Particularly, we adapt the first variant for calculating periodic orbits of Hamiltonian systems when the period or the energy is given a priori. Finally, we consider the application of the monodromy method to the case of regularized mechanical systems and demonstrate the use by two examples. (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics.