Laser controlled charge-transfer reaction at low temperatures.

ABSTRACT

We study the low-temperature charge transfer reaction between a neutral atom and an ion under the influence of near-resonant laser light. By setting up a multi-channel model with field-dressed states, we demonstrate that the reaction rate coefficient can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude with laser intensities of 106 W/cm2 or larger. In addition, depending on laser frequency, one can induce a significant enhancement or suppression of the charge-exchange rate coefficient. For our intensities, multi-photon processes are not important.