Multiphoton Processes in a Hydrogen Atom

Abstract

Within the framework of time-dependent perturbation theory, general expressions are derived for the cross section of multiphoton processes induced by radiation acting on a hydrogen atom. Bound-bound transitions involving emission of a single quantum and bound-free transitions are calculated for a wide range of photon energies. In the case of resonance, the transition probability is also discussed. The procedure used to evaluate the sums over intermediate states is described. The numerical computation allows one to compare the results obtained for various competing processes.