Optimal Stochastic Enhancement of Photoionization

The effect of noise on the nonlinear photoionization of an atom due to a femtosecond pulse is investigated in the framework of the stochastic Schr\"odinger equation. A modest amount of white noise results in an enhancement of the net ionization yield by several orders of magnitude, giving rise to a form of quantum stochastic resonance. We demonstrate that this effect is preserved if the white noise is replaced by broadband chaotic light.