Laser-assisted ion-atom collisions

B.D. Esry, Fatima Anis, V. Roudnev, R. Cabrera-Trujillo
J. R. Macdonald Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

With the increasing availability of intense ultrashort lasers, the prospects of using them to alter the outcome of ion-atom collisions are nearing reality. I will present some of our recent calculations on the effects of an intense laser on the charge exchange cross section in He⁺⁺ + H collsions. We found that even for relatively low laser intensities - which enhance the experimental feasibility - the effect is dramatic. The capture cross sections for a 1 keV He⁺⁺ beam in a 800 nm laser can be increased by a factor of four to five depending on the laser polarization relative to the beam direction. We have done extensive calculations taking into account realistic experimental conditions that will also be presented. I will follow this with related work on the laser-based control of half-collisions, namely the laser-induced dissociation of H₂⁺ and its isotopes. We have found that a remarkable degree of control over the fragment angular distribution is possible via the parameters of the few-cycle laser pulse. In both examples of laser-assisted collisions, I will give a qualitative description of the mechanisms involved in the control.

JRML-KSU work was supported by the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division, Office of Basic
Energy Sciences, Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy.

Submitted to CAARI, August 2006 in Fort Worth, TX.

 

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