Abstract

Autoionization in rare gases has been studied for over fifty years. The broad asymmetric lines observed by Beutler prompted theoretical work by Fano¹ in which the now commonly recognized Beutler-Fano line profile was derived. More recently, series perturbations and autoionization in the rare gases have been a major driving force for development and application of multichannel quantum defect theory (MQDT). Unfortunately, the experimental data to date have been limited almost exclusively to the odd-parity J = 1 levels which can be reached via photoabsorption from the ground state. The techniques of laser spectroscopy, starting from metastable levels in the rare gases, can provide access to a wealth of previously undetected states.

© 1986 Optical Society of America