Scaled-time dynamics of ionization of Rydberg Stark states by half-cycle pulses

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Abstract
We study the time dependence of the ionization of Stark Rydberg states of hydrogen subject to half-cycle electromagnetic pulses. We find that the quantum ionization probability for the most 'blue-shifted' Stark state exhibits a purely classical oscillating pattern as a function of time whose frequency is associated with the perturbed orbital frequency of the electron. We show that these oscillations could be observed experimentally when a scaled-time analysis of ionization data for hydrogen is employed. Our calculations are compared with experimental data for sodium.