mqdtfit: A collection of Python functions for empirical multichannel quantum defect calculations

The Python functions distributed with this article can be used for calculating the parameters of multichannel quantum defect theory models describing excited bound states of complex atoms. These parameters are obtained by fitting a model to experimental data provided by the user. The two main formulations of the theory are supported, namely the one in which the parameters of the model are a set of eigen channel quantum defects and a transformation matrix, and the one where these parameters are the elements of a reactance matrix. The distribution includes programs for calculating theoretical energy levels, calculating mixing coefficients and channel fractions and producing Lu-Fano plots

Perturbative study of multiphoton processes in the tunneling regime

A perturbative study of the Schr\"{o}dinger equation in a strong electromagnetic field with dipole approximation is accomplished in the Kramers-Henneberger frame. A prove that just odd harmonics appear in the spectrum for a linear polarized laser field is given, assuming that the atomic radius is much lesser than the free-electron quiver motion amplitude. Within this approximation a perturbation series is obtained in the Keldysh parameter giving a description of multiphoton processes in the tunneling regime. The theory is applied to the case of hydrogen-like atoms: The spectrum of higher order harmonics and the above-threshold ionization rate are derived. The ionization rate computed in this way determines the amplitudes of the harmonics. The wave function of the atom proves to be rigid with respect to the perturbation so that the effect of the laser field on the Coulomb potential in the computation of the probability amplitudes can be neglected as a first approximation: This approximation improves as the ratio between the amplitude of the quiver motion of the electron and the atom radius becomes larger. The semiclassical description currently adopted for harmonic generation is so rederived by solving perturbatively the Schr\"{o}dinger equation.Comment: Latex, 11 pages. To appear on Phys. Lett.

Liouville-space R-matrix-Floquet description of atomic radiative processes involving autoionizing states in the presence of intense electromagnetic fields

A reduced-density-operator description is developed for coherent optical phenomena in many-electron atomic systems, utilizing a Liouville-space, multiple-mode Floquet–Fourier representation. The Liouville-space formulation provides a natural generalization of the ordinary Hilbert-space (Hamiltonian) R-matrix-Floquet method, which has been developed for multi-photon transitions and laser-assisted electron–atom collision processes. In these applications, the R-matrix-Floquet method has been demonstrated to be capable of providing an accurate representation of the complex, multi-level structure of many-electron atomic systems in bound, continuum, and autoionizing states. The ordinary Hilbert-space (Hamiltonian) formulation of the R-matrix-Floquet method has been implemented in highly developed computer programs, which can provide a non-perturbative treatment of the interaction of a classical, multiple-mode electromagnetic field with a quantum system. This quantum system may correspond to a many-electron, bound atomic system and a single continuum electron. However, including pseudo-states in the expansion of the many-electron atomic wave function can provide a representation of multiple continuum electrons. The 'dressed' many-electron atomic states thereby obtained can be used in a realistic non-perturbative evaluation of the transition probabilities for an extensive class of atomic collision and radiation processes in the presence of intense electromagnetic fields. In order to incorporate environmental relaxation and decoherence phenomena, we propose to utilize the ordinary Hilbert-space (Hamiltonian) R-matrix-Floquet method as a starting-point for a Liouville-space (reduced-density-operator) formulation. To illustrate how the Liouville-space R-matrix-Floquet formulation can be implemented for coherent atomic radiative processes, we discuss applications to electromagnetically induced transparency, as well as to related pump–probe optical phenomena, and also to the unified description of radiative and dielectronic recombination in electron–ion beam interactions and high-temperature plasmas

S-Matrix Poles Close to Thresholds in Confined Geometries

We have studied the behavior of the S-matrix poles near threshold for quantum waveguides coupled to a cavity with a defect. We emphasize the occurrence of both dominant and shadow poles on the various sheets of the energy Riemann surface, and show that the changes of the total conductivity near threshold as the cavity's width changes can be explained in terms of dominant to shadow pole transitions.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Multiphoton ionization and multiphoton resonances in the tunneling regime

The rate of ionization of an atom of helium, argon, or hydrogen exposed to an intense monochromatic laser field and the quasienergy spectrum of their dressed states are studied for values of the Keldysh parameter between 1 and 0.6 and wavelengths between 390 and 1300 nm. The calculations are carried out within the non-Hermitian Floquet theory. Resonances with intermediate excited states significantly affect ionization from the dressed ground state at all the intensities and all the wavelengths considered. The dressed excited states responsible for these structures are large-α0 states akin to the Kramers-Henneberger states of the high-frequency Floquet theory. Within the single-active-electron approximation, these large-α0 states become species independent at sufficiently high intensity or sufficiently long wavelength. Apart for the resonance structures arising from multiphoton coupling with excited states, the ab initio Floquet ionization rate is in excellent agreement with the predictions of two different calculations in the strong field approximation, one based on a length-gauge formulation of this approximation and one based on a velocity-gauge formulation. The calculations also confirm the validity of the ω2 expansion as an alternative to the strong field approximation for taking into account the nonadiabaticity of the ionization process in intense low-frequency laser fields

Deuterium spectroscopy for enhanced bounds on physics beyond the Standard Model

We consider the impact of combining precision spectroscopic measurements made in atomic hydrogen with similar measurements made in atomic deuterium on the search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Specifically we consider the wide class of models that can be described by an effective Yukawa-type interaction between the nucleus and the electron. We find that it is possible to set bounds on new light-mass bosons that are orders of magnitude more sensitive than those set using a single isotope only, provided the interaction couples differently to the deuteron and proton. Further enhancements of these bounds by an order of magnitude or more would be made possible by extending the current measurements of the isotope shift of the 1s$_{1/2}$-2s$_{1/2}$ transition frequency to that of a transition between the 2s$_{1/2}$ state and a Rydberg s-state.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure