Enhancement of many high-order harmonics via a single multiphoton resonance

In the strong-field regime a single multiphoton resonance can enhance many harmonics of the fundamental laser frequency simultaneously. We demonstrate that an alkali-metal atom driven by an intense, ultrafast midinfrared pulse is an ideal system for observing this effect by calculating the response of potassium atoms to radiation that is nearly three or five photon resonant with the 4s-4p transition. We find that all the harmonics through at least the 17th are enhanced over a wide range of intensities, and that the resonance width of the enhanced harmonics is governed by the lifetime of the multiphoton resonance.