A new representation of the interaction between an atom and an intense elliptically polarized electromagnetic field

A new representation of the interaction between a laser field and an atom is obtained. The Fourier component of the interaction is represented as a multipole expansion dependent on the force parameter of the field, a ₀=F/ω², and the degree of its ellipticity, η. This representation provides the analytical separation of the angles in the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The stationary spherically symmetric part of the potential V ₀(r, a ₀, η) of a “field-dressed” atom is singled out. The application of the new representation to the calculation of nonlinear effects and electron scattering by an atom in a field are discussed