Abstract
An exploratory calculation of the photoabsorption cross section near the 4d ionization threshold of lanthanum metal is carried out. The level structure of the configuration 4d94f is found to be altered by interaction with the continuum configuration 4d9εf. The Fano profile of the resonance above threshold is calculated, as are the oscillator strengths of the discrete states below threshold. Our results provide the ground work for more detailed calculations.