Ionization of Rydberg atoms in a low frequency field: modelling by maps of transition to chaotic behavior

Abstract

We investigate a microwave ionization of highly excited atom in a low frequency field and show that such a process may be studied on the bases of map for the electron energy change during the period of the electron motion between two subsequent passages at aphelion. Simple approximate criterion results to the threshold field for transition to chaotic behavior very close to the numerical results. We show that transition from adiabatic to chaotic ionization mechanism takes place when the field frequency to the electron's Kepler frequency ration approximately equals 0.1.