Nonlinear plasmon response in highly excited metallic clusters

Abstract

We present a dynamical study of the electron response of metallic clusters in the nonlinear regime, as excited, e.g., in ion-cluster interactions or with intense laser beams. We use a quantal time-dependent local-density approximation in axial symmetry to describe the electron dynamics. Ions are either treated in a jellium approximation or explicitly. We find different dynamical regimes depending on the symmetries of the ionic background.