Angle-resolved electron spectroscopy of laser-assisted Auger decay induced by a few-femtosecond x-ray pulse.

Two-color (x-ray+infrared) electron spectroscopy is used for investigating laser-assisted KLL Auger decay following 1s photoionization of atomic Ne with few-femtosecond x-ray pulses from the Linac Coherent Light Source. In an angle-resolved experiment, the overall width of the laser-modified Auger-electron spectrum and its structure change significantly as a function of the emission angle. The spectra are characterized by a strong intensity variation of the sidebands revealing a gross structure. This variation is caused, as predicted by theory, by the interference of electrons emitted at different times within the duration of one optical cycle of the infrared dressing laser, which almost coincides with the lifetime of the Ne 1s vacancy.