Transition metals with their densely confined and strongly coupled valence
electrons are key constituents of many materials with unconventional
properties, such as high-Tc superconductors, Mott insulators and
transition-metal dichalcogenides. Strong electron interaction offers a fast and
efficient lever to manipulate their properties with light, creating promising
potential for next-generation electronics. However, the underlying dynamics is
a fast and intricate interplay of polarization and screening effects, which is
poorly understood. It is hidden below the femtosecond timescale of electronic
thermalization, which follows the light-induced excitation. Here, we
investigate the many-body electron dynamics in transition metals before
thermalization sets in. We combine the sensitivity of intra-shell transitions
to screening effects with attosecond time resolution to uncover the interplay
of photo-absorption and screening. First-principles time-dependent calculations
allow us to assign our experimental observations to ultrafast electronic
localization on d-orbitals. The latter modifies the whole electronic structure
as well as the collective dynamic response of the system on a timescale much
faster than the light-field cycle. Our results demonstrate a possibility for
steering the electronic properties of solids prior to electron thermalization,
suggesting that the ultimate speed of electronic phase transitions is limited
only by the duration of the controlling laser pulse. Furthermore, external
control of the local electronic density serves as a fine tool for testing
state-of-the art models of electron-electron interactions. We anticipate our
study to facilitate further investigations of electronic phase transitions,
laser-metal interactions and photo-absorption in correlated electron systems on
its natural timescale
