Application of attosecond light
sources for the study of electronic
processes in atoms and molecules

Guillaume Laurent, Auburn University
March 10, 2017
PSB 160/161, 4:00-5:00pm

Abstract: The interaction of light with matter is an essential process in nature and, in particular, the photoionization process has been the subject of numerous studies. The recent development of light pulses in the attosecond timescale (1 as =10-18 s) has opened up new avenues to probe temporal aspects of this fundamental process in atoms, molecules, and more complex systems [1]. In this talk, I will show how such tools can be also used to control the electron dynamics in atom on an attosecond time scale [2]. By combining an attosecond pulse and its fundamental infrared field, we will see how a strong asymmetric emission of continuum electrons is generated along the direction of the laser polarization. In addition, I will show that the electron emission is also related to the properties of the attosecond pulses, which provides a way to measure its temporal profile [3,4]

[1] P. M. Paul et al. Science 292, 1689 (2001)
[2] G. Laurent et al. Physical Review Letters 109, 083001 (2012)
[3] G. Laurent et al. Optics Express 21, 16914 (2013)
[4] P. Keathley et al. New Journal of Physics 18, 073009 (2016)