Abstract
The recently observed efficient ionization of sodium vapor by a laser tuned to the sodium resonance line can be explained in terms of the large population of resonance-state atoms created by laser-induced radiative equilibrium. This large population of excited atoms represents (a) a reservoir of energy that can rapidly be transferred to the free electrons via superelastic collisions and (b) a source of pseudo-ground- state atoms possessing a much reduced ionization energy. Three-photon ionization is proposed as the mechanism for creation of the primary pool of free electrons.
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