RESONANCE COLLISIONS BETWEEN 3-LEVEL SYSTEMS IN AN INTENSE LASER FIELD

Theory relevant to the treatment of resonance collisions between two-l evel dressed atoms has been extended to the three-level case in a self -contained calculation of field-dependent collision rates. With the la ser field tuned close to the \e1] <-> \e2] transition, dressing of the upper two-level system is achieved. We solve coupled equations of mot ion for two-atom states that describe one atom in the ground state and the other in one of two dressed states. Dressed-state collision rates are calculated within the impact approximation using S-matrix theory. The coupled equations of motion are simplified in the limit of intens e field. We have applied the theory to describe approximately collisio ns between Ne atoms in fields intense enough to dress the collision co mplex.