Abstract

Conventional photoionization spectroscopy has provided detailed information on the short life of electrons escaping from their parent ion. Such a photoionization spectrum is obtained by measuring the time-integrated electron yield as a function of the radiation wavelength. Recurrences to the initial conditions, i.e., to the location of the electron just after optical excitation, are seen as peaks in the spectrum. The width of these peaks is a measure of the number of recurrences the electron makes before escaping. Although conventional photoionization spectroscopy reveals recurrences, it does not disclose when the electron leaves the parent ion. For example, the electron could have a fixed probability for ejection during each recurrence or it could have a probability for ejection that changes drastically from one recurrence to the next.

© 1998 Optical Society of America