Stark-state resonances induced by low-frequency elliptically polarized fields

We analyse the effect of a low-frequency elliptically polarized electric field on an excited hydrogen atom using classical dynamics. It is shown that at particular frequencies the ionization probability is a non-monotonic function of the field strength and that at these frequencies the classical ionization probabilities agree well with those of experiment. We show that this unusual behaviour is produced by resonance between Stark states and the driving field near the circularly polarized limit. By averaging over the fast motion, to produce a mean-motion approximation, we show how the resonance affects the motion and that the effect is different according to whether the electron is initially rotating in the same or in the opposite direction to the field.