Unexpected product fine-structure distributions in (3+1)-photon ionization of xenon

C. Bordas, M. J. Dyer, T. Fairfield, H. Helm, and K. C. Kulander
Phys. Rev. A 51, 3726 – Published 1 May 1995
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Abstract

Three-photon resonance enhanced four-photon ionization of xenon shows preferential formation of Xe+(2P1/2) when intermediate ns[3/2]1 Rydberg states are excited in the three-photon step. Here, the nl[K]J notation refers to jcl coupling, in which the angular momentum of the ion core, jc, is coupled to the orbital angular momentum of the Rydberg electron l to give K, which is then coupled to the Rydberg electron’s spin to give J. The primes following l denote states belonging to the 2P1/2 core. Multichannel-quantum-defect theory identifies these intermediates as nearly pure Rydberg states belonging to the Xe+(2P3/2) core. An equivalent behavior is found for the 7s[1/2]1 intermediate state which preferentially produces Xe+(2P3/2). On the other hand, for nd and nd resonances we observe final-state distributions which closely mirror the core character of the intermediate state. The suppression of the parent core channel for s-type Rydberg states is shown to be due to a Cooper minimum in the ns→ɛp transitio n amplitudes. As a consequence, minor components of the resonance state wave functions play a major role in the selection of the final ionization channel, in particular via the much larger amplitudes of nd→ɛf transitions.

  • Received 25 April 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.51.3726

©1995 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

C. Bordas, M. J. Dyer, T. Fairfield, and H. Helm

  • Molecular Physics Laboratory, SRI International, Menlo Park, California 94025

K. C. Kulander

  • Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551

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Issue

Vol. 51, Iss. 5 — May 1995

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