PHOTOIONIZATION OF THE HYDROGEN-ATOM IN STRONG MAGNETIC-FIELDS

The photoionization of the hydrogen atom in magnetic fields B is similar to 10(11)-10(13) G typical of the surface layers of neutron stars is investigated analytically and numerically. We consider the photoionization from various tightly bound and hydrogen-like states of the atom for photons with arbitary polarizations and wave-vector directions. It is shown that the length form of the interaction matrix elements is more appropriate in the adiabatic approximation than the velocity form, at least in the most important frequency range omega much less than omega(B), where omega(B) is the electron cyclotron frequency. Use of the length form yields nonzero cross sections for photon polarizations perpendicular to the magnetic field at omega < omega(B); these cross sections are the ones that most strongly affect the properties of the radiation escaping from an optically thick medium, e.g., from the atmosphere of a neutron star. The results of the numerical calculations are fitted by simple analytical formulae.