1 research outputs found
Semiclassical interferences and catastrophes in the ionization of Rydberg atoms by half-cycle pulses
A multi-dimensional semiclassical description of excitation of a Rydberg
electron by half-cycle pulses is developed and applied to the study of energy-
and angle-resolved ionization spectra. Characteristic novel phenomena
observable in these spectra such as interference oscillations and semiclassical
glory and rainbow scattering are discussed and related to the underlying
classical dynamics of the Rydberg electron. Modifications to the predictions of
the impulse approximation are examined that arise due to finite pulse
durations