Abstract

Atomic states may be embedded in the continuum by dressing the atom by an intense laser field. This is often referred to as a laser induced continuum structure (LICS) [1]. This continuum, in general, also has a natural structure due to the doubly excited states, or autoionizing states, of the atom. We have considered the situation in which a complex atom or ion is subjected to an intense laser field such that the LICS states and autoionizing states occur simultaneously. We have have found that, by tuning the frequency and intensity of the field, the states can become degenerate, i.e. have the same position and width.

© 1994 Optical Society of America