LASER-MODIFIED ELECTRON CORRELATIONS AND DEFLECTION OF ATOMS BY LASER-LIGHT

The influence of laser-induced two-electron excitation processes on th e deflection of atoms by a standing-wave laser field is investigated. In particular, isolated-core excitation processes are studied in which , after preparing one valence electron as an electronic Rydberg wave p acket, the core electron is driven resonantly by the standing wave. Th e dynamics of the two electrons are entangled through laser-induced el ectron correlation effects. A theoretical approach is developed that c learly exhibits the intricate interplay between these correlation effe cts and the atomic center-of-mass motion that originates from the stim ulated light force. Various examples are analyzed that show the manife stations of this interplay in the diffraction pattern of a deflected a tom.