Theory and experiment on laser-enabled inner-valence Auger decay of rare-gas atoms

In rare-gas atoms, an inner-valence shell ns hole cannot be filled by Auger decay because of an energy deficiency. We show theoretically and experimentally that by adding a moderately intense infrared laser, Auger decay is possible with decay rates increasing dramatically for laser intensities ⩾1013 W/cm2. For Xe atoms, the simulated laser-enabled Auger decay yields are comparable with the experimental one, while for Ar atoms, the simulated ones are much smaller. We attribute the discrepancies to screening effects of the photoelectron. Laser-enabled Auger decay is of fundamental importance for understanding attosecond science, and is also important for experimental applications in ultrafast atomic, molecular, and materials dynamics using x rays. More importantly it may provide a way to control the Auger decay time and selectively break chemical bonds of molecules using a control infrared laser field