Abstract

The interaction of atoms with intense laser radiation (I = 10¹³ - 10¹⁶ Wcm⁻²) is of considerable interest from both a scientific and a technological perspective. There are a number of new phenomena in this intensity range, such as nonresonant multiphoton ionization (MPI), above-threshold ionization (ATI) and high-harmonic generation. They can be used for new sources of coherent XUV radiation or to produce pulses shorter than the current limit of a few femtoseconds. These processes cannot be described with perturbation theory due to the strong coupling of the atom with the field. Therefore nonperturbative models are needed to gain a better understanding of high-intensity laser-atom interactions and to optimize these processes.

© 1994 Optical Society of America