The effects of saturation of a bound-bound atomic resonance on bound-continuum decays in investigated using the dressed state concept. Two special cases are discussed: the modification of spontaneous radiative decay by coupling to a third bound atomic state, and the changes in single-photon photoionisation when the initial discrete state is coupled by an external field to another bound state. For strong external fields Rabi oscillations and dynamic Stark splittings profoundly alter the 'decay'; but for weak fields the alterations at line centre are no less dramatic.The effects of saturation of a bound-bound atomic resonance on bound-continuum decays in investigated using the dressed state concept. Two special cases are discussed: the modification of spontaneous radiative decay by coupling to a third bound atomic state, and the changes in single-photon photoionisation when the initial discrete state is coupled by an external field to another bound state. For strong external fields Rabi oscillations and dynamic Stark splittings profoundly alter the 'decay'; but for weak fields the alterations at line centre are no less dramatic.

Journal of Physics B Atomic and Molecular PhysicsOct 28, 197952 citations

Weak decay of the positronium ion

Nishat Ul Sani, M. Jamil Aslam, Ishtiaq Ahmed

The positronium ion ( $\mathrm{Ps}^-$ ), a coulombic three-body bound state of two electrons and a positron, predominantly decays via electron-positron annihilation into electromagnetic final states. While its radiative decay channels have been extensively studied, much less attention has been given to weak processes in this system. In this work, we investigate the rare decay $\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- ν_μ\barν_μ$ , obtained by replacing the photon in $\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- γ$ with a virtual $Z$ boson. Treating the three-body process as an effective two-body transition, $\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- Z^*\left(\to ν_μ\barν_μ\right)$ , we compute the decay rate by explicitly evaluating all spin configurations of the initial bound state and final particles. The result agrees with that obtained using the standard spin-summation formalism of quantum field theory. We find that the branching ratio is comparable to that of the weak decay of ortho-positronium, $\mathrm{o\text{-}Ps} \to γν\barν$ .The positronium ion ($\mathrm{Ps}^-$), a coulombic three-body bound state of two electrons and a positron, predominantly decays via electron-positron annihilation into electromagnetic final states. While its radiative decay channels have been extensively studied, much less attention has been given to weak processes in this system. In this work, we investigate the rare decay $\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- ν_μ\barν_μ$, obtained by replacing the photon in $\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- γ$ with a virtual $Z$ boson. Treating the three-body process as an effective two-body transition, $\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- Z^*\left(\to ν_μ\barν_μ\right)$, we compute the decay rate by explicitly evaluating all spin configurations of the initial bound state and final particles. The result agrees with that obtained using the standard spin-summation formalism of quantum field theory. We find that the branching ratio is comparable to that of the weak decay of ortho-positronium, $\mathrm{o\text{-}Ps} \to γν\barν$.

hep-phCross-listedarXiv:2606.25433Jun 25, 2026

Induced Emission in a Strong Monochromatic Field

D. V. Skobelʹt︠s︡yn

Nonlinear OpticsJan 1, 19700 citations

The Decay of Coupled States

Princeton University Press eBooksApr 13, 20210 citations

The positronium ion (

\mathrm{Ps}^-

), a coulombic three-body bound state of two electrons and a positron, predominantly decays via electron-positron annihilation into electromagnetic final states. While its radiative decay channels have been extensively studied, much less attention has been given to weak processes in this system. In this work, we investigate the rare decay

\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- ν_μ\barν_μ

, obtained by replacing the photon in

\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- γ

with a virtual

Z

boson. Treating the three-body process as an effective two-body transition,

\mathrm{Ps}^- \to e^- Z^*\left(\to ν_μ\barν_μ\right)

, we compute the decay rate by explicitly evaluating all spin configurations of the initial bound state and final particles. The result agrees with that obtained using the standard spin-summation formalism of quantum field theory. We find that the branching ratio is comparable to that of the weak decay of ortho-positronium,

\mathrm{o\text{-}Ps} \to γν\barν