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Ultrafast laser technique developed to observe electron action

Date:
May 13, 2014
Source:
University of Central Florida
Summary:
Physicists have developed a new ultrafast light source for observing electron motion in molecules -- made up of nuclei and electrons -- at the point before the nuclei start to move. By being able to observe what actually happens, scientists can begin to understand how an electron interacts with other electrons, which may help improve the efficiency of solar cells.
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University of Central Florida physicist Zenghu Chang has done it again. For a third time this year, his research group has published an article in a Nature journal.

This time, Chang and his team have developed a new ultrafast light source for observing electron motion in molecules -- made up of nuclei and electrons -- at the point before the nuclei start to move. By being able to observe what actually happens, scientists can begin to understand how an electron interacts with other electrons, which may help improve the efficiency of solar cells.

"The charge migration that theorists have been predicting since 1999 happens so quickly we haven't been able to observe it yet," Chang said. "It's very exciting, because we have found a new way to build light sources that may allow us to see it in the future."

Being able to see this superfast interaction between electrons gives scientists another tool to unlock the rules that govern the quantum-mechanics world -- a world where microscopic objects don't obey the laws of physics we have come to rely on for understanding in the macro world.

So how did Chang and his team manage to develop the new light source? The team borrowed an idea from Chang's earlier innovative work in the area of ultrafast lasers.

"We control the below-threshold harmonic light emission by using electromagnetic fields with time-dependent ellipticity, like we have done to the above-threshold high-order harmonics," said Chang referring to the creation of a 67-attosecond pulse of extreme ultraviolet light, which earned him international recognition. "We thought: Could we use the same gating fields to show the dependence of the below-threshold harmonic intensity on the carrier-envelope phase of the driving laser? It took us some time to find the right experimental parameters, but the answer is yes."

"My dream is to discover new physics that has not been predicted at this time," Chang said. "Until there was a microscope, we had no idea how complicated, how amazing cells were. What we are creating now are tools for magnifying time in order to discover what we have not even imagined yet. That's what I see for the future of our field."


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Materials provided by University of Central Florida. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Michael Chini, Xiaowei Wang, Yan Cheng, He Wang, Yi Wu, Eric Cunningham, Peng-Cheng Li, John Heslar, Dmitry A. Telnov, Shih-I Chu, Zenghu Chang. Coherent phase-matched VUV generation by field-controlled bound states. Nature Photonics, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2014.83

Cite This Page:

University of Central Florida. "Ultrafast laser technique developed to observe electron action." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 May 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140513113611.htm>.
University of Central Florida. (2014, May 13). Ultrafast laser technique developed to observe electron action. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140513113611.htm
University of Central Florida. "Ultrafast laser technique developed to observe electron action." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140513113611.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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