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Direct Measurement Of Oscillations Between Degenerate Two-Electron Bound-State Configurations In A Rapidly Autoionizing System, Heider N. Ereifej, J. Greg Story

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In this paper we report a direct observation of the oscillation between bound-state configurations in a rapidly autoionizing system. Calcium atoms were excited to a pure 4p_3/2nd two-electron configuration using a 500-fsec laser pulse. The initial 4p_3/2nd doubly excited state is energy degenerate with the 4p_1/2n'd states and several continuum channels. Because of the short-pulse excitation, the initial state of the atom is not an energy eigenstate, but a nonstationary wave packet. As a result, oscillations between the two bound configurations were produced. These oscillations were measured by scanning the timing of a second …