[en] We investigate the classical and quantum dynamics of the hydrogen atom in a Rydberg state subject to a sequence of periodic and random pulses. One goal of this study is to test the validity of classical electron transport theories. We analyze the critical momentum transfer for which 10% of the Rydberg atoms are ionized after a large number of pulses as a function of the frequency of the perturbation. The quantum mechanical results for a periodic sequence of pulses exhibit clear structures which are not present in a classical simulation. These structures are shown to vanish for the case of stochastic pulses for which agreement is obtained between the classical and quantum mechanical results. The dynamics of the quantum mechanical periodic system is analyzed in terms of quasi-eigenstates of the period-one time evolution operator