Atomic coherence effects in few-cycle pulse induced ionization

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how atomic coherence and pulse waveform manipulation can significantly enhance ionization probabilities in atoms subjected to few-cycle laser pulses, supported by quantum mechanical analysis.

Contribution

It reveals the impact of initial atomic superposition phases and pulse waveform changes on ionization, providing new insights into atomic coherence effects with numerical validation.

Findings

Ionization probability can increase by a factor of three due to atomic coherence.

Waveform adjustments of the laser pulse significantly affect ionization outcomes.

Numerical results align with quantum mechanical explanations.

Abstract

The interaction of a short, few-cycle light pulse and an atom which is prepared initially in a superposition of two stationary states is shown to exhibit strong signatures of atomic coherence. For a given waveform of the laser pulse, appropriate quantum mechanical relative phase between the constituents of the initial superposition can increase the ionization probability by a factor of three. A similarly strong effect can be observed when the waveform of the ionizing pulse is changed. These results allow for intuitive explanations, which are in agreement with the numerical integration of the time dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation.