48 research outputs found
Attosecond Control of Ionization Dynamics
Attosecond pulses can be used to initiate and control electron dynamics on a
sub-femtosecond time scale. The first step in this process occurs when an atom
absorbs an ultraviolet photon leading to the formation of an attosecond
electron wave packet (EWP). Until now, attosecond pulses have been used to
create free EWPs in the continuum, where they quickly disperse. In this paper
we use a train of attosecond pulses, synchronized to an infrared (IR) laser
field, to create a series of EWPs that are below the ionization threshold in
helium. We show that the ionization probability then becomes a function of the
delay between the IR and attosecond fields. Calculations that reproduce the
experimental results demonstrate that this ionization control results from
interference between transiently bound EWPs created by different pulses in the
train. In this way, we are able to observe, for the first time, wave packet
interference in a strongly driven atomic system.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Attosecond electron spectroscopy using a novel interferometric pump-probe technique
We present an interferometric pump-probe technique for the characterization
of attosecond electron wave packets (WPs) that uses a free WP as a reference to
measure a bound WP. We demonstrate our method by exciting helium atoms using an
attosecond pulse with a bandwidth centered near the ionization threshold, thus
creating both a bound and a free WP simultaneously. After a variable delay, the
bound WP is ionized by a few-cycle infrared laser precisely synchronized to the
original attosecond pulse. By measuring the delay-dependent photoelectron
spectrum we obtain an interferogram that contains both quantum beats as well as
multi-path interference. Analysis of the interferogram allows us to determine
the bound WP components with a spectral resolution much better than the inverse
of the attosecond pulse duration.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Extreme-ultraviolet pump-probe studies of one femtosecond scale electron dynamics
Studies of ultrafast dynamics along with femtosecond-pulse metrology rely on
non-linear processes, induced solely by the exciting/probing pulses or the
pulses to be characterized. Extension of these approaches to the
extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) spectral region opens up a new, direct route to
attosecond scale dynamics. Limitations in available intensities of coherent XUV
continua kept this prospect barren. The present work overcomes this barrier.
Reaching condition at which simultaneous ejection of two bound electrons by
two-XUV-photon absorption becomes more efficient than their one-by-one removal
it is succeeded to probe atomic coherences, evolving at the 1fs scale, and
determine the XUV-pulse duration. The investigated rich and dense in structure
autoionizing manifold ascertains applicability of the approach to complex
systems. This initiates the era of XUV-pump-XUV-probe experiments with
attosecond resolution.Comment: 27 page
Attosecond dynamics of electron wave packets in intense laser fields
We use a train of sub-200 attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses with energies just above the ionization threshold in argon to create a train of temporally localized electron wave packets. We study the energy transfer from a strong infrared (IR) laser field to the ionized electrons as a function of the delay between the XUV and IR fields. When the wave packets are born at the zero crossings of the IR field, a significant amount of energy (∼20 eV) is transferred from the field to the electrons. This results in dramatically enhanced above-threshold ionization in conditions where the IR field alone does not induce any significant ionization. Because both the energy and duration of the wave packets can be varied independently of the IR laser, they are valuable tools for studying and controlling strong-field processes
Broadband attosecond pulse shaping
International audienceWe use semiconductor (Si) and metallic (Al, Zr) transmission filters to shape, in amplitude and phase, high-order harmonics generated from the interaction of an intense titanium sapphire laser field with a pulsed neon gas target. Depending on the properties of the filter, the emitted attosecond pulses can be optimized in bandwidth and/or pulse length. We demonstrate the generation of attosecond pulses centered at energies from 50 to 80 eV, with bandwidths as large as 45 eV and with pulse durations compressed to 130 as
Angularly resolved electron wave packet interferences
We study experimentally the ionization of argon atoms by a train of attosecond pulses in the presence of a strong infrared laser field, using a velocity map imaging technique. The recorded momentum distribution strongly depends on the delay between the attosecond pulses and the laser field. We interpret the interference patterns observed for different delays using numerical and analytical calculations within the strong field approximation. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd