The multiphoton ionization rate and the energy shift of atoms interacting with weak dichromatic fields with commensurate frequencies are simple functions of the phase difference

By implementing a time-independent, nonperturbative many-electron, many-photon theory (MEMPT), cycle-averaged complex eigenvalues were obtained for the He atom, whose real part gives the field-induced energy shift, Δ(ω ₁, F ₁;ω ₂, F ₂,ϕ), and the imaginary part is the multiphoton ionization rate, Γ(ω ₁, F ₁;ω ₂, F ₂,ϕ), where ω is the frequency, F is the field strength and ϕ is the phase difference. Through analysis and computation we show that, provided the intensities are weak, the dependence of Γ(ω ₁, F ₁;ω ₂, F ₂,ϕ) on ϕ is simple. Specifically, for odd harmonics, Γ varies linearly with cos(ϕ) whilst for even harmonics it varies linearly with cos(2ϕ). In addition, this dependence on ϕ holds for Δ(ω ₁, F ₁;ω ₂, F ₂,ϕ) as well. These relations may turn out to be applicable to other atomic systems as well, and to provide a definition of the weak field regime in the dichromatic case. When the combination of (ω ₁, F ₁) and (ω ₂, F ₂) is such that higher powers of cos(ϕ) and cos(2ϕ) become important, these rules break down and we reach the strong field regime. The herein reported results refer to Γ(ω ₁, F ₁;ω ₂, F ₂,ϕ) and Δ(ω ₁, F ₁;ω ₂, F ₂,ϕ) for He irradiated by a dichromatic ac-field consisting of the fundamental wavelength λ = 248 nm and its 2nd, 3rd and 4th higher harmonics. The intensities are in the range 1.0×10¹²-3.5×10¹⁴ W/cm², with the intensity of the harmonics being 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller. The calculations incorporated systematically electronic structure and electron correlation effects in the discrete and in the continuous spectrum, for ¹S, ¹P, ¹D, ¹F, ¹G, and ¹H two-electron states of even and odd parity. Received 9 July 2000 and Received in final form 2 November 2000