Interference of a resonance state with itself: a route to control its dynamical behaviour

Abstract

It is demonstrated both numerically and mathematically that the dynamical behavior of an isolated resonance state, which comprises the resonance decay lifetime and the asymptotic fragment state distribution produced upon resonance decay, can be extensively controlled by means of quantum interference induced by a laser field in the weak-field regime. The control scheme applied is designed to induce interference between amplitudes excited at two different energies of the resonance line shape, namely the resonance energy and an additional energy. This scheme exploits the resonance property of possessing a nonzero energy width, which makes it possible that a resonance state may interfere with itself, and thus allows interference between the amplitudes excited at the two energies of the resonance width. The application of this scheme opens the possibility of a universal control of both the duration and the fragment product distribution outcome of any resonance-mediated molecular process.