We investigate the multiphoton ionization of hydrogen driven by a strong bichromatic microwave field. In a regime where classical and quantum simulations agree, periodic orbit analysis captures the mechanism: Through the linear stability of periodic orbits we match qualitatively the variation of experimental ionization rates with control parameters such as the amplitudes of the two modes of the field or their relative phases. Moreover, we discuss an empirical formula which reproduces quantum simulations to a high degree of accuracy. This quantitative agreement shows the mechanism by which short periodic orbits organize the dynamics in multiphoton ionization. We also analyze the effect of longer pulse durations. Finally we compare our results with those based on the peak amplitude rule. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses are implemented for different mode locked fields. In parameter space, the localization of the period doubling and halving allows one to predict the set of parameters (amplitudes and phase lag) where ionization occurs.
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