
Method for high precision measurement of decaying dynamics using attosecond wave-mixing spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Kang Mi,
Wei Cao,
Huabing Xu,
Qingbin Zhang,
Peixiang Lu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.413829
Subject(s) - attosecond , extreme ultraviolet , physics , extreme ultraviolet lithography , ultrashort pulse , optics , spectroscopy , wave packet , four wave mixing , mixing (physics) , pulse shaping , excited state , nonlinear optics , atomic physics , laser , computational physics , quantum mechanics
Ultrafast wave-mixing spectroscopies involving extreme ultraviolet (EUV) attosecond pulses provide unprecedented insight into electronic dynamics. Here, we proposed a versatile lifetime-detection method for doubly excited states with odd or even parities by mixing an attosecond EUV pulse with two few-cycle near infrared (NIR) pulses in atomic helium under a noncollinear geometry. By properly choosing the time order of the pulse sequence, the spatially resolved nonlinear signals carry significant information of the decaying dynamics of excited states, which can be utilized to retrieve the lifetimes of states with different parities in a single measurement. The validity and robustness of the method has been verified by numerical simulations based on a few-level model of helium including the spatial distribution of atoms. The accuracy of the lifetime measurement method is better than a few hundred attoseconds. It provides a powerful tool for probing decaying dynamics of the electronic wave packet with superb resolution.