Relativistic laser-atom interaction: dynamics and radiation

Summary form only given. The experimental availability of lasers in the intensity regime around and above 10/sup 19/ W/cm/sup 2/ has opened a new era of research for atom-laser interactions. Because the ponderomotive energy of electrons driven by such radiation is no longer negligible as compared to the electron rest mass, conventional nonrelativistic theoretical descriptions lose their validity and it is imperative to invoke relativistic ideas. We focus on the relativistic theory of atoms interacting with strong laser fields in the framework of the numerical investigation of the two-dimensional Dirac equation, three-dimensional classical Monte Carlo simulations, and analytical laser-assisted Mott scattering.