McGill.CA / Science / Department of Physics

Physical Society Colloquium

Producing, Measuring and Using Attosecond Photon and Electron Pulses

Paul Corkum

Steacie Institute
National Research Council

Experience teaches that the ability to make measurements in any new time regime opens new areas of science. The duration of attosecond pulses is on the time scale of electron motion. They will enable us to time-resolve electron dynamics and electron-electron interactions.

Attosecond technology is just emerging. It currently consists of methods for making and measuring attosecond photon pulses (minimum pulse duration ~650 attoseconds), methods for making and measuring attosecond electron pulses (minimum pulse duration ~ 1 femtosecond), and methods of using correlation to measure dynamics. All of these techniques rely on controlling electrons with a strong laser field.

Friday, September 20th 2002, 15:30
Ernest Rutherford Physics Building, Keys Auditorium (room 112)