Adiabatic stabilization of a circular state: Theory compared to experiment

The probability that an-atom of hydrogen, initially in the 5g (m = 4) state, survives a 90-fs pulse of 620-nm wavelength is calculated both by direct; integration of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation and by a Floquet calculation. The two methods give virtually identical results. The survival probability calculated for a one-electron model of neon, for the same initial state, pulse duration, and wavelength, is in fair quantitative agreement with the experimental data of van Druten er al.