  The dynamics of a laser-excited Rydberg electron under the influence of a
fluctuating laser field are investigated. Rate equations are developed which
describe these dynamics in the limit of large laser bandwidths for arbitrary
types of laser fluctuations. These equations apply whenever all coherent
effects have already been damped out. The range of validity of these rate
equations is investigated in detail for the case of phase fluctuations. The
resulting asymptotic power laws are investigated which characterize the long
time dynamics of the laser-excited Rydberg electron and it is shown to which
extent these power laws depend on details of the laser spectrum.
