Electron-Atom Scattering in the Presence of a 1.17eV Laser Field

Funding is requested to carry out fundamental research on laser-assisted electron scattering. The work will be carried out on two apparatuses. The first, which is already in use for such experiments, will be modified to carry out experiments in potassium on the effects of the "dressing" of atoms by 1.17 eV laser radiation on the scattering process. The second apparatus, which has up to the present been used for (e,2e) experiments, will be re-purposed to run laser-assisted scattering experiments and a multipass laser system will be developed for use on this apparatus. To test this system, initial experiments will be carried out on 1-, 2-, and 3-photon processes for elastic scattering in the presence of intense 1.17 eV laser radiation. The apparatus will then be used to investigate the laser-assisted electron-impact autoionization of helium.