LAUSR

We have theoretically investigated the modulation structures of the excited-state population of an argon atom exposed to a linearly polarized 800-nm laser pulse in the tunneling region. The numerical result identifies a nearly opposite phase modulation structure between the low-lying n = 4–7 states and over all higher $$n>7$$ states. This phase-dependent alternating population phenomenon is found to be related to the periodic channel-closing effect that results from ac-Stark-shifted multiphoton resonances. Moreover, the angular momentum states attributed to different parities have a similar alternating effect, which confirms a multiphoton process in the tunneling region. We introduce a mechanism of two-photon $$\Lambda $$ -type Raman transitions involving Rydberg and continuum states with a simultaneous redistribution of states to account successfully for this observed out-of-phase angular momentum state population.