arXiv subjects

M. Kretschmar

Publications and source records attributed to M. Kretschmar.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Attosecond multi-photon multi-electron dynamics

Multi-electron dynamics in atoms and molecules very often occur on sub- to few-femtosecond timescales. The available intensities of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulses have previously only allowed the time-resolved investigation of two-photon, two-electron interactions. Here we demonstrate attosecond control over double and triple ionization of argon atoms involving the absorption of up to five XUV photons. In an XUV-pump XUV-probe measurement using a pair of attosecond pulse trains (APTs), the Ar$^{2+}$ ion yield exhibits a weak delay dependence, showing that its generation predominantly results from the sequential emission of two electrons by photoabsorption from the two APTs. In contrast, the Ar$^{3+}$ ion yield exhibits strong modulations as a function of the delay, which is a clear signature of the simultaneous absorption of at least two XUV photons. The experimental results are well reproduced by numerical calculations that provide detailed insights into the ionization dynamics. Our results open up new opportunities for the investigation and control of multi-electron dynamics and complex electron correlation mechanisms on extremely short timescales.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2021

Intense narrowband XUV pulses from a compact setup

We report on a compact and spectrally intense extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) source, which is based on high-harmonic generation (HHG) driven by 395 nm pulses. In order to minimize the XUV virtual source size and to maximize the XUV flux, HHG is performed several Rayleigh lengths away from the driving laser focal plane in a high-density gas jet. As a result, a high focused XUV intensity of $5 \times 10^{13}$ W/cm$^2$ is achieved, using a beamline with a length of only two meters and a modest driving laser pulse energy of 3 mJ. The high XUV intensity is demonstrated by performing a nonlinear ionization experiment in argon, using an XUV spectrum that is dominated by a single harmonic at 22 eV. Ion charge states up to Ar$^{3+}$ are observed, which requires the absorption of at least four XUV photons. The high XUV intensity and the narrow bandwidth are ideally suited for a variety of applications including photoelectron spectroscopy, the coherent control of resonant transitions and the imaging of nanoscale structures.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Propagation-assisted generation of intense few-femtosecond high-harmonic pulses

The ongoing development of intense high-harmonic generation (HHG) sources has recently enabled highly nonlinear ionization of atoms by the absorption of at least 10 extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) photons within a single atom [Senfftleben \textit{et al.}, arXiv1911.01375]. Here we investigate the role that reshaping of the fundamental, few-cycle, near-infrared (NIR) driving laser within the 30-cm-long HHG Xe medium plays in the generation of the intense HHG pulses. Using an incident NIR intensity that is higher than what is required for phase-matched HHG, signatures of reshaping are found by measuring the NIR blueshift and the fluorescence from the HHG medium along the propagation axis. These results are well reproduced by numerical calculations that show temporal compression of the NIR pulses in the HHG medium. The simulations predict that after refocusing an XUV beam waist radius of 320 nm and a clean attosecond pulse train can be obtained in the focal plane, with an estimated XUV peak intensity of 9x10^15 W/cm^2. Our results show that XUV intensities that were previously only available at large-scale facilities can now be obtained using moderately powerful table-top light sources.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

All-optical attoclock for imaging tunnelling wavepackets

Recent experiments on measuring time-delays during tunnelling of cold atoms through an optically created potential barrier are reinvigorating the controversial debate regarding possible time-delays during light-induced tunnelling of an electron from an atom. Compelling theoretical and experimental arguments have been put forward to advocate opposite views, confirming or refuting the existence of finite tunnelling time delays. Yet, such a delay, whether present or not, is but a single quantity characterizing the tunnelling wavepacket; the underlying dynamics are richer. Here we propose to augment photo-electron detection in laser-induced tunnelling with detection of light emitted by the tunnelling electron -- the so-called Brunel radiation. Using a combination of single-color and two-color driving fields, we identify the all-optical signatures of the re-shaping of the tunnelling wavepacket as it emerges from the tunnelling barrier and moves away from the core. This reshaping includes not only an effective time-delay but also time-reversal asymmetry of the ionization process, which we describe theoretically and observe experimentally. We show how both delay and reshaping are mapped on the polarization properties of the Brunel radiation, with different harmonics behaving as different hands of a clock moving at different speeds. The all-optical detection paves the way to time-resolving optical tunnelling in condensed matter systems, e.g. tunnelling across bandgaps in solids, on the attosecond time-scale.

physics.optics↗