Theory of Auger decay by laser-dressed atoms

We devise an ab initio formalism for the quantum dynamics of Auger decay by laser-dressed atoms which are inner-shell ionized by extreme ultraviolet (xuv) light. The optical dressing laser is assumed to be sufficiently weak such that ground-state electrons are neither excited nor ionized by it. However, the laser has a strong effect on continuum electrons which we describe in strong-field approximation with Volkov waves. The xuv light pulse has a low peak intensity and its interaction with the atom is treated as a one-photon process. The quantum dynamics of the inner-shell hole creation with subsequent Auger decay is given by equations of motion (EOMs). For this paper, the EOMs are simplified in terms of an essential-states model which averages over magnetic subshells and is solved analytically. We apply our theory to the M4,5 N1 N2,3 Auger decay of a 3d hole in a krypton atom. The orbitals are approximated by scaled hydrogenic wave functions. A single attosecond pulse produces 3d vacancies which Auger decay in the presence of an 800 nm laser with an intensity of 1013 W cm-2. We compute the Auger electron spectrum and assess the convergence of the various quantities involved. © 2009 The American Physical Society