We model the response of an atomic cluster to an intense laser pulse by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a simplified one-dimensional system. We address the questions of the generation of high-order harmonics of the laser frequency and of the ionization dynamics of the atoms within the cluster for very short laser pulses.

• Received 25 February 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.60.3952