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Theory of attosecond electron dynamics in solids
- The electric current density induced by an attosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulse at a surface of a solid in the regime where the absorption of a single photon excites a core-level electron to the conduction band. The current density was evaluated by numerically solving the single-electron time-dependent Schrödinger equation using a one-dimensional effective potential.
Light-driven electron dynamics, such as photoemission, core-hole decay and strong-field ionization, occur on time scales where attosecond measurements promise insights inaccessible to conventional spectroscopies. Attosecond measurements in solids present a new field of research, which was opened by the first demonstration of attosecond streaking measurements on a tungsten surface [1]. The theoretical research inspired by this experiment was mainly focused on explaining the observed delay between photoemissions of conduction-band and core-level electrons.
The goals of this project are to investigate various phenomena accessible to attosecond streaking measurements, as well as to search for alternative approaches to measuring attosecond dynamics in solids. In particular, we investigate how the effect of an intense laser pulse on optical properties of a solid can be observed with a resolution better than an optical cycle of the laser pulse. We also study how processes that involve the core-hole decay manifest themselves in attosecond streaking measurements.
Reference:
[1] A. Cavalieri, A. Müller, Th. Uphues, V. Yakovlev, A. Baltuska, B. Horvath, A. J. Schmidt, L. Blümel, and R. Holzwarth, S. Hendel, M. Drescher, U. Kleineberg, P. M. Echenique, R. Kienberger, F. Krausz, U. Heinzmann. Attosecond spectroscopy in condensed matter. Nature 449, 1029 (2007)
Dr. Vladislav S. Yakovlev