Quantum beating and cyclic structures in the phase-space dynamics of the Kramers-Henneberger atom

Abstract

We investigate the phase-space dynamics of the Kramers Henneberger (KH) atom solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation for reduced-dimensionality models and using Wigner quasiprobability distributions. We find that, for the time-averaged KH potential, coherent superpositions of eigenstates perform a cyclic motion confined in momentum space, whose frequency is proportional to the energy difference between the two KH eigenstates. This cyclic motion is also present if the full time dependent dynamics are taken into consideration. However, there are time delays regarding the time-averaged potential, and some tail-shaped spilling of the quasiprobability flow towards higher momentum regions. These tails are signatures of ionization, indicating that, for the potential studied in this work, a small momentum spread is associated with stabilization. A comparison of the quasiprobability flow with classical phase-space constraints shows that, for the KH atom, the momentum must be bounded from above. This is a major difference from a molecule, for which the quasiprobability flow is confined in position space for small internuclear separation. Furthermore, we assess the stability of different propagation strategies and find that the most stable scenario for the full dynamics is obtained if the system is initially prepared in the KH ground state.