ARCHER2 Calendar July 2024

Revealing Real-time Attosecond Dynamics in Xenon

Lynda Hutcheson, Queen's University Belfast

Advances in laser and computer technology allow us to investigate dynamics on the attosecond (10^(-18) s) timescale: the natural timescale of electronic motion. Using ARCHER2, we perform state-of-the-art simulations with the R-matrix with time-dependence (RMT) codes, treating interactions between multi-electron atoms/molecules and arbitrary laser fields.
The image shows how the absorption of laser light varies as a function of time and energy during ionisation of a xenon atom. Effectively, the three peaks represent the presence of ‘holes’ left by ionisation. The peaks build up as the laser ionises the xenon, but oscillate at twice the frequency of the driving field. These oscillations, through careful analysis, reveal an alternative ionisation pathway interfering with direct ionisation. These real-time studies of attosecond dynamics are only possible using massively parallel calculations on ARCHER2

This image was published on the July page of the ARCHER2 2024 printed calendar.