Abstract

A nonperturbative treatment of the multiphoton ionization of the hydrogen atom based on the S matrix and devised for nonresonant strong-field situations is analyzed in the weak-field limit. Comparisons are presented with other S matrices as well as other nonperturbative approaches. Our treatment is found to perform generally better than similar S-matrix treatments. The usual perturbative results are recovered provided that the photon wavelengths are sufficiently short and are off resonance with the atomic transitions. Important indications are obtained as to the role of the atomic structure, the relevance of the gauge consistency, and the reliability and improvement of the present nonperturbative treatment. The results represent a significant step toward an assessment of the S-matrix-based treatments of multiphoton ionization.

© 1989 Optical Society of America

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