Publikationsdatum:
2013-03-02
Beschreibung:
Nature Physics 9, 159 (2013). doi:10.1038/nphys2525 Authors: Kyung Taec Kim, Chunmei Zhang, Andrew D. Shiner, Sean E. Kirkwood, Eugene Frumker, Genevieve Gariepy, Andrei Naumov, D. M. Villeneuve & P. B. Corkum Attosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulses have a complex space–time structure. However, at present, there is no method to observe this intricate detail; all measurements of the duration of attosecond pulses are, to some extent, spatially averaged. A technique for determining the full space–time structure would enable a detailed study of the highly nonlinear processes that generate these pulses as a function of intensity without averaging. Here, we introduce and demonstrate an all-optical method to measure the space–time characteristics of an isolated attosecond pulse. Our measurements show that intensity-dependent phase and quantum-path interference both play a key role in determining the pulse structure. In the generating medium, the attosecond pulse is strongly modulated in space and time. Propagation modifies but does not erase this modulation. Quantum-path interference of the single-atom response, previously obscured by spatial and temporal averaging, may enable measuring the laser-field-driven ion dynamics with sub-cycle resolution.
Print ISSN:
1745-2473
Digitale ISSN:
1745-2481
Thema:
Physik
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