Chaotic scattering from hydrogen atoms in a circularly polarized laser field

We investigate the classical dynamics of a hydrogen atom in a circularly polarized laser beam with finite radius. The spatial cutoff for the laser field allows us to use scattering processes to examine the laser-atom dynamics. We find that for certain field parameters, the delay times, the angular momentum, and the distance of closest approach of the scattered electron exhibit fractal behavior. This fractal behavior is a signature of chaos in the dynamics of the atom-field system.