Ionisation dynamics of a model atom in an electrostatic field

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Abstract
The time evolution of the ionisation probability of a simple one-dimensional model atom under the influence of an electrostatic field is evaluated by an exact solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. It is shown that in the low-field, long-time limit the decay of the bound state is exponential in time with the decay constant identical to that obtained in the quasiclassical tunnelling theories. For shorter times, however, there are large departures from exponential decay, which lead to ionisation probabilities much higher than expected on the basis of the quasiclassical theories. The potential importance of this in the analysis of DC discharge phenomena is pointed out.

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