Attosecond physics

The group studies the fastest dynamics in matter — the motion of electrons within atoms, molecules, and solids — which unfolds on the attosecond scale (10⁻¹⁸ s). At these timescales conventional electronics and detectors are far too slow, so the work relies on intense, carefully shaped laser fields and the bursts of extreme-ultraviolet light that arise when those fields drive electrons through strongly nonlinear interactions. The central aim is to turn the light–matter interaction itself into a clock and a probe, encoding electron dynamics into the spectrum and phase of the emitted radiation.

A primary tool is high-harmonic generation, in which an electron is freed by a strong field, accelerated, and recombined with its parent ion to emit high-energy photons. Because this process imprints sub-cycle timing information onto the radiation, it provides an internal probe of ionization, electron trajectories, and the structure of the system left behind. Reconstructing this information requires retrieving the spectral phase of the emitted light, and the group develops interferometric and field-resolved schemes to do so. Advancing these measurements deepens our understanding of correlated electron motion and opens routes to controlling electronic processes with light.