Attosecond electron wavepackets are produced when an intense laser field ionizes an atom or a molecule1. When the laser field drives the wavepackets back to the parent ion, they interfere with the bound wavefunction, producing coherent subfemtosecond extreme-ultraviolet light bursts. When only a single return is possible2,3, an isolated attosecond pulse is generated. Here we demonstrate that by modulating the polarization of a carrier-envelope phase-stabilized short laser pulse4, we can finely control the electron-wavepacket dynamics. We use high-order harmonic generation to probe these dynamics. Under optimized conditions, we observe the signature of a single return of the electron wavepacket over a large range of energies. This temporally confines the extreme-ultraviolet emission to an isolated attosecond pulse with a broad and tunable bandwidth. Our approach is very general, and extends the bandwidth of attosecond isolated pulses in such a way that pulses of a few attoseconds seem achievable. Similar temporal resolution could also be achieved by directly using the broadband electron wavepacket. This opens up a new regime for time- resolved tomography of atomic or molecular wavefunctions5,6 and ultrafast dynamics.
Controlling attosecond electron dynamicsby phase-stabilized polarization gating
VILLORESI, PAOLO;
2006
Abstract
Attosecond electron wavepackets are produced when an intense laser field ionizes an atom or a molecule1. When the laser field drives the wavepackets back to the parent ion, they interfere with the bound wavefunction, producing coherent subfemtosecond extreme-ultraviolet light bursts. When only a single return is possible2,3, an isolated attosecond pulse is generated. Here we demonstrate that by modulating the polarization of a carrier-envelope phase-stabilized short laser pulse4, we can finely control the electron-wavepacket dynamics. We use high-order harmonic generation to probe these dynamics. Under optimized conditions, we observe the signature of a single return of the electron wavepacket over a large range of energies. This temporally confines the extreme-ultraviolet emission to an isolated attosecond pulse with a broad and tunable bandwidth. Our approach is very general, and extends the bandwidth of attosecond isolated pulses in such a way that pulses of a few attoseconds seem achievable. Similar temporal resolution could also be achieved by directly using the broadband electron wavepacket. This opens up a new regime for time- resolved tomography of atomic or molecular wavefunctions5,6 and ultrafast dynamics.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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