Multiphoton ionization of rubidium atoms near the 4d<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal"/></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:mrow></mml:math>D quadrupole transition

Photoelectron angular distributions have been measured for two-photon ionization of rubidium atoms both when the first photon was in resonance with the 4d ${\mathrm{}}^{2}$D state via an electric quadrupole transition and when it was detuned from it. Angular distributions have also been obtained for the first and second above-threshold ionization (ATI) photoelectron peaks. Tuning to the 4d ${\mathrm{}}^{2}$D resonance creates a large enhancement of the two-photon ionization photoelectron signal but causes only a modest increase in the ATI signal.