Multiphoton absorption above ionization threshold by atoms in strong laser fields

Abstract

We present an atomic model to study above-threshold ionization (ATI). We show that when the laser field is sufficiently intense the usual perturbation theory is not valid. We solve the model dynamics exactly, and several interesting quantities, including the initial-state decay rate and photoelectron spectrum, are calculated. These quantities are related to recent ATI experiments, and qualitatively they agree with these experiments. We specify the strong-field condition for continuum–continuum transitions and explore its physical meaning. Finally some comments on perturbation theory are made.