Controlling the parameters of short-wavelength radiation pulses using the interference of transitions to a continuum

Specific features of the propagation of light pulses with frequency lying in the range of autoionization resonances of the medium are analyzed. It is shown that the interference nature of the autoionization spectra makes it possible to combine a strong frequency dispersion of the refractive index with small absorption when the radiation frequency approaches the spectral range of the "transparency window" of an isolated resonance or of a series of overlapped autoionization resonances. This allows one to control the time delay of the pulses and their group velocity. Depending on the parameters of the medium, the pulse group velocity may be maximally reduced by a factor of 104–105.