Exploring laser-driven quantum phenomena from a time-frequency analysis perspective: A comprehensive study

TL;DR

This paper systematically compares various time-frequency analysis methods for studying ultrafast quantum dynamics in atoms under strong laser fields, highlighting the effectiveness of synchrosqueezing transform and introducing new analysis techniques.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive comparison of classical and modern TF methods, introduces new approaches like Cohen class distributions, and demonstrates the versatility of TF analysis in quantum dynamics exploration.

Findings

Synchrosqueezing transform effectively reveals physical mechanisms in ionization regimes.

New TF methods like Cohen class distributions and empirical mode decomposition are introduced.

TF analysis proves versatile for complex quantum system exploration.

Abstract

Time-frequency (TF) analysis is a powerful tool for exploring ultrafast dynamics in atoms and molecules. While some TF methods have demonstrated their usefulness and potential in several of quantum systems, a systematic comparison among these methods is still lacking. To this end, we compare a series of classical and contemporary TF methods by taking hydrogen atom in a strong laser field as a benchmark. In addition, several TF methods such as Cohen class distribution other than the Wigner-Ville distribution, reassignment methods, and the empirical mode decomposition method are first introduced to exploration of ultrafast dynamics. Among these TF methods, the synchrosqueezing transform successfully illustrates the physical mechanisms in the multiphoton ionization regime and in the tunneling ionization regime. Furthermore, an empirical procedure to analyze an unknown complicated quantum system is provided, indicating the versatility of TF analysis as a new viable venue for exploring quantum dynamics.