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Stabilization of Atoms by Ultra-Strong Laser Fields

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Photon and Electron Collisions with Atoms and Molecules

Part of the book series: Physics of Atoms and Molecules ((PAMO))

Abstract

The incessant advance of laser technology has pushed the peak electric-field strengths produced by lasers to well above the atomic unit, 5.14 109 V /cm [1], and there appears to be no limit in sight. Under these circumstances, the amplitude of the oscillating field is many times larger than the average electrostatic field experienced by an electron in the ground state of the hydrogen atom. Obviously, this changes drastically the laser-atom interaction phenomena as known at low intensities, and in particular ionization [2]. Indeed, in superintense fields ionization acquires a striking feature, sometimes termed as “counter-intuitive”: stabilization. In the following we present an overview of ultra-strong field stabilization, theoretical and experimental [3], [4]. In this Introduction, we start by placing the phenomenon into perspective.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FOM-Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Mihai Gavrila

  2. Institute for Theoretical Atomic and Molecular Physics at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachussets, USA

    Mihai Gavrila

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  1. Mihai Gavrila
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

    Philip G. Burke

  2. Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Charles J. Joachain

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Gavrila, M. (1997). Stabilization of Atoms by Ultra-Strong Laser Fields. In: Burke, P.G., Joachain, C.J. (eds) Photon and Electron Collisions with Atoms and Molecules. Physics of Atoms and Molecules. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5917-7_11

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