Abstract

In our earlier studies^1,2 of laser-assisted He⁺ −He charge transfer collision, we chose the laser light to be linearly polarized along the beam trajectory. In this work we demonstrate the effect of varying the angle β between the beam trajectory and the polarization vector. As in Ref. ², we consider the multiple-photon exchange with the laser field (typical bandwidth ~1 Å) until saturation. Typical results for charge transfer probability (P_s) after saturation are shown at two different β, together with P₀, the field-free values. A significant dephasing occurs in the P_s curve as the angle β is changed from 0° to 45°. The consequent change in cross section relative to the field-free case drops from −34% to ≲ 1%.

© 1986 Optical Society of America