ANGLE-RESOLVED SPIN-ORBIT AUTOIONIZATION DYNAMICS OF RYDBERG ELECTRON-WAVE PACKETS IN AR - A TIME-DEPENDENT MQDT APPROACH

The spin-orbit autoionization dynamics of a Rydberg electron wave pack et in Ar have been investigated using time-dependent multichannel quan tum defect theory (TD-MQDT). The time-dependent photoionization cross sections reveal interesting interference patterns in the recurrence sp ectra which can be accounted for in terms of the quantum defects of th e autoionizing channels. An expression for the time-and energy-depende nt asymmetry parameter beta(E,t) has been derived to calculate time-re solved photoelectron angular distributions (PADs) for the first time. An oscillation in the time-resolved PAD is observed, with a period whi ch is inversely proportional to the difference between the quantum def ects of the autoionizing channels. (C) 1998 American Institute of Phys ics.