Multiphoton Ionization of Atomic and Molecular Hydrogen at 0.53μ

Abstract

This work reports multiphoton ionization and dissociation of molecular hydrogen under the influence of laser radiation at 0.53 $\mu$. The six-photon ionization probability of hydrogen atoms is derived for laser radiation acting upon atomic hydrogen from a molecular hydrogen beam which is up to 80% dissociated by radio-frequency power. The experimental six-photon ionization probability of atomic hydrogen has been found to be in good agreement with the corresponding probability calculated using time-dependent perturbation theory if the statistical properties of the incident light are taken into account.