THEORY OF LASER-INDUCED 2-STEP ELECTRON-ION RECOMBINATION

A theoretical framework for the quantitative interpretation of laser-i nduced electron-ion recombination is presented in terms of the density matrix taking into account stochastic bandwidth and pulse duration of the laser. The theory deals with recombination induced from the conti nuum into one group of states by one laser and further stabilized into a lower group of states by a second laser. Rate equations are then de rived from the complete density matrix, and the conditions for their v alidity are discussed. Both density matrix and rate equations are appl ied to the interpretation of a recent experiment with equally good agr eement.