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Physical Review A

Short-pulse laser-induced stabilization of autoionizing states

Heider N. Ereifej, J. G. Story

Published Aug 16, 2000• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Atoms in doubly excited states above the first ionization limit can decay via autoionization in which an electron is emitted leaving an ion, or by photoemission which leaves the atom in a singly excited state. In this paper, it is demonstrated that interaction between the atoms and a laser pulse that is short compared to the autoionization lifetime can lead to large enhancement of the photoemission process by stimulating the atoms to emit a photon. Since the resultant singly excited atoms do not autoionize, this process can be viewed as an enhancement of the stabilization of the doubly excited atoms against autoionization. A simple theoretical model is outlined that shows good agreement with the experimental results.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.62.033405

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Doubly excited states

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Multistep laser excitation makes it possible to excite one electron at at time in the excitation of doubly excited states. This suppresses the direct continuum excitation, removing the familiar Beutler–Fano interference profiles from the excitation of autoionizing states. Removing this complexity in the excitation process allows one to investigate inherently complex atomic systems, such as interacting autoionizing series. The ability to examine such systems experimentally has led to the development of theoretical techniques based on quantum-defect theory to interpret the experimental results. This powerful combination of complementary experimental and theoretical techniques has led to substantial advances in the study of autoionizing states.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•May 1, 1987•36 citations
Atoms in doubly excited states above the first ionization limit can decay via autoionization in which an electron is emitted leaving an ion, or by photoemission which leaves the atom in a singly excited state. In this paper, it is demonstrated that interaction between the atoms and a laser pulse that is short compared to the autoionization lifetime can lead to large enhancement of the photoemission process by stimulating the atoms to emit a photon. Since the resultant singly excited atoms do not autoionize, this process can be viewed as an enhancement of the stabilization of the doubly excited atoms against autoionization. A simple theoretical model is outlined that shows good agreement with the experimental results.
Laser-induced autoionization, a form of forced autoionization, is discussed. Highly excited atomic Rydberg states generally have a small cross section for photoionization due to their small overlap with the nucleus. The cross section for photoionization can be strongly enhanced if the Rydberg series is perturbed by an atomic state with a relatively large cross section for photoionization. The photoionization dynamics of such a perturbed Rydberg system shows strong similarities to that of an autoionizing Rydberg series. For intense laser pulses, which strongly couple the perturber to the continuum, the photoionization rate is limited by the coupling between the Rydberg states and the perturber or, in other words, the autoionization rate. The model describing this ionization dynamics is applied to the barium 6snd(1,3{(}^{1,3}(1,3D2{\mathit{D}}_{2}D2​) state which is perturbed by the 5d7d(1{(}^{1}(1D2{\mathit{D}}_{2}D2​) state. The calculations show good agreement with experimental results of photoionization of barium Rydberg states with subpicosecond laser pulses of light of 620 nm in wavelength.
A theoretical study of laser-induced autoionization of an atomic system in interaction with a time-dependent excitation is presented. Interference effects between the two ionization channels of the atom are found to be responsible for coherent phenomena, such as the enhancement of the photon yield, for a pulsed excitation. An analysis of the pulse-shape effects shows that pumping mechanisms of the proper dressed state, occurring during the rise time of flat-top pulses, can result in an enhancement of the photon yield. An adiabatic approximation based on the use of time-dependent complex dressed states is shown to be adequate to describe the interaction with smooth pulses.
Single photoionization of neutral atoms is examined theoretically for a situation in which the photoionizing laser is tuned close to the resonant frequency for transitions between the ground and first-excited states of the positive ion. The resonant coupling in the positive ion is shown to have a dramatic peak-splitting effect on the kinetic-energy spectrum of the ionized electron. An essential-states analysis of the photoionization process is presented, and a comparison is made with numerical results for one-dimensional helium. The agreement between the results establishes the validity of the essential-states approach. The possibility of superposing this core-coherence effect with laser-induced autoionization effects is considered.
Multistep laser excitation makes it possible to excite one electron at at time in the excitation of doubly excited states. This suppresses the direct continuum excitation, removing the familiar Beutler–Fano interference profiles from the excitation of autoionizing states. Removing this complexity in the excitation process allows one to investigate inherently complex atomic systems, such as interacting autoionizing series. The ability to examine such systems experimentally has led to the development of theoretical techniques based on quantum-defect theory to interpret the experimental results. This powerful combination of complementary experimental and theoretical techniques has led to substantial advances in the study of autoionizing states.