Attosecond double-slit experiment

Diane Riendeau

F. Lindner, Michael G. Schätzel, HERBERT WALTHER +7 more

A new scheme for a double-slit experiment in the time domain is presented. Phase-stabilized few-cycle laser pulses open one to two windows (slits) of attosecond duration for photoionization. Fringes in the angle-resolved energy spectrum of varying visibility depending on the degree of which-way information are measured. A situation in which one and the same electron encounters a single and a double slit at the same time is observed. The investigation of the fringes makes possible interferometry on the attosecond time scale. From the number of visible fringes, for example, one derives that the slits are extended over about 500 as.

Tore Wessel-Berg

Minghui Xu, Liang-You Peng, Zheng Zhang +1 more

We present a theoretical study of photoelectron emission of a homonuclear molecule by an attosecond xuv pulse, which can be regarded as a natural double-slit experiment. We show that attosecond electron motion inside the molecule opens one to two 'slits' for photoionization. Interference fringes in the angle-resolved photoelectron momentum distributions exhibit varying visibility (V), depending on the degree of which-path information (P). The complementarity relation, P2 + V2 ≤ 1, is verified in the time-dependent molecule double-slit experiment. Hence, the electron motion can be easily mapped out by measuring the interference visibility. This opens up the prospect of employing interferometric techniques to probe ultrafast intramolecular electronic motions.

Kenichi L. Ishikawa

The which-way information and interference visibility in a temporal version of double- and triple-slit experiments with attosecond electron wave packets generated by a soft X-ray pulse train can be controlled by a phase-stabilized laser pulse.

Siddhant Das, Dirk-André Deckert, Leopold Kellers +2 more