Wavelengths of intense laser fields range nowadays from the infrared to the XUV, while pulse durations are shortened to the single field cycle and into the attosecond regimes. This rapid progress in laser techniques and experimental discoveries calls for a thorough understanding of the non-linear interaction of photons with multielectron atoms and molecules. The project is devoted to modeling the key mechanisms of the interaction of multielectron system with intense laser pulses and investigating the photophysical processes occurring in laser driven atomic and molecular systems. For multiphoton processes such as strong field ionization and high harmonic generation, the significance of many-electron effects, dynamic polarizability, as well as the influence of the molecular structure and the symmetry will be studied. The intellectual merit of this research work arises from the theoretical and numerical challenges to solve the time dependent Schrodinger equation taking into account the multi-electron nature of atoms and molecules and the nonperturbative nature of the intense laser field.
The broader impacts of the projecy comprise several activities for the training and teaching of students at different levels. This includes the training of a graduate student and training and guiding of undergraduate physics major students working on independent research projects or towards honors theses. The PI belongs to an underrepresented group.
