Suppression of electron correlation and of autoionization by strong laser fields

General considerations and explicit computations using highly correlated Hy lleraas-type wavefunctions demonstrate how doubly electronically excited au toionizing helium can be stabilized in the presence of a KrF laser at labor atory field intensities. This type of stabilization is due to the abrupt su ppression of the dynamical electronic correlation as the field intensity is increased beyond a critical value. The generality of the result is stresse d.