INTERFERENCE CONTROL OF PHOTODISSOCIATION BRANCHING RATIOS - 2-COLOR FREQUENCY TUNING OF INTENSE LASER FIELDS

Control over product probabilities and channel specific line shapes in molecular photodissociation is shown to result from quantum interfere nce effects which can be manipulated by varying the frequencies of two intense laser fields. The laser fields, whose relative phase need not be well defined, have frequencies centered around two transitions: on e between the continuum and an initially populated state and the secon d between the continuum and an initially unpopulated molecular bound s tate. Computations on Na-2 photodissociation show that control over pr oduct yields is extensive, with the branching ratio changing by a fact or often as the frequencies are tuned over a convenient range.