ADIABATIC STABILIZATION OF EXCITED-STATES OF H IN AN INTENSE LINEARLY POLARIZED LASER FIELD

The lifetime of atomic hydrogen exposed to an intense ''high-frequency'' linearly polarized laser field has been calculated, in a Sturmian-Floquet approach, for the case where the atom is initially in an excited state with m = 3, 4, 5, or 6, l = m, m + 1, or m + 2, and n less-than-or-equal-to 8, for several wavelengths between 455 and 1064 nm. In this range of parameters, the intensity at which the lifetime of the atom reaches a minimum value is given in good approximation by a simple ''empirical' law. The lifetime is longer than that predicted by previous approximate Floquet calculations, and its minimum occurs at a smaller intensity. Results for higher-lying Rydberg states are also presented.