Simple man model in the Heisenberg picture

Abstract

Describing the interaction of a hydrogen atom with a strong laser field requires solving computationally expensive ab initio calculations. Here, the authors solve the Heisenberg equations analytically by introducing a quantum version of the Simple Man Model, which allows straightforward computation of the autocorrelation functions. Describing the ionization of an atom exposed to a strong laser field entails computationally expensive quantum simulations based on the numerical solutions of the time-dependent Shrodinger equation. The well-known Simple Man Model provides a qualitatively accurate description of the ionization process. Here, we propose a quantum generalization of the physical picture given by the Simple Man Model. We describe an approximate solution to the Heisenberg operator equations of motion for an atom in a laser field. We provide justification of this generalization and test its validity by applying it to calculate the coordinate and velocity autocorrelation functions. Both our model and results of the ab initio numerical calculations show distinct types of correlations due to different types of electron's motion providing insight into the strong field ionization dynamics.