Effect of a dressing radiation field on the laser-induced collisional energy-transfer line shape

We describe a new scheme suitable for the study of strong-field effects on the laser-induced collisional energytransfer process. The use of two independently tuned radiation fields, to induce the interatomic transition and to modify the energy levels, is found to give rise to a splitting of the excitation spectrum peak, similar to the Autler-Townes doublet. Owing to the resonant coupling, an observable splitting of a few inverse centimeters can be induced by a dressing laser intensity of the order of 10 MW/cm(2).