From a quantum to a classical description of intense laser-atom physics with Bohmian trajectories.

In this paper, Bohmian mechanics is applied to intense laser-atom physics. The motion of an atomic electron in an intense laser field is obtained from the Bohm-Newton equation. We find that the quantum potential that dominates the quantum effect of a physical system becomes negligible as the electron is driven far from the parent ion by the intense laser field, i.e. the behavior of the electron smoothly tends towards classical soon after the electron is ionized. Our numerical calculations present direct positive evidence for semiclassical trajectory methods in intense laser-atom physics where the motion of the ionized electron is treated by classical mechanics, while quantum mechanics is needed before the ionization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]