Laser-Assisted Intermolecular Energy Transfer between Electronic States of Carbon Monoxide in the Vacuum Ultraviolet

Abstract

We report the first observation of laser-assisted collisions in molecules. Cross sections for such intermolecular processes involving high-energy ($E\ensuremath{\sim}11$ eV) Rydberg states in carbon monoxide are shown to be larger than ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ at the laser intensities approaching ${10}^{10}$ W/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. Our experiments clearly illustrate the care necessary in interpreting multiphoton spectra taken at high laser powers.