No abstract

The generation of attosecond pulse trains at free-electron lasers opens new opportunities in ultrafast science, as it gives access, for the first time, to reproducible, programmable, extreme ultraviolet (XUV) waveforms with high intensity. In this work, we present a detailed analysis of the theoretical model underlying the temporal characterization of the attosecond pulse trains recently generated at the free-electron laser FERMI. In particular, the validity of the approximations used for the correlated analysis of the photoelectron spectra generated in the two-color photoionization experiments are thoroughly discussed. The ranges of validity of the assumptions, in connection with the main experimental parameters, are derived.

We present a compact experimental setup for performing attosecond-pump-infrared-probe experiments with long-time delay stability. The robustness of the setup is demonstrated over a two-day acquisition time in two-photon photoionization of argon in the photon-energy range 17−33 eV. The propagation of the input infrared pulse, as driving pulse for the high-order harmonic generation process and for the generation of the sidebands of the main photoelectron peaks, through the main optical components is simulated and discussed. Our setup allows us to perform attosecond experiments with an overall stability of ± 40 as.

We have used the FERMI free-electron laser to perform time-resolved photoelectron imaging experiments on a complex group of resonances near 15.38 eV in the absorption spectrum of molecular nitrogen, N2, under jet-cooled conditions. The new data complement and extend the earlier work of Fushitani et al. [Opt. Express 27, 19702–19711 (2019)], who recorded time-resolved photoelectron spectra for this same group of resonances. Time-dependent oscillations are observed in both the photoelectron yields and the photoelectron angular distributions, providing insight into the interactions among the resonant intermediate states. In addition, for most states, we observe an exponential decay of the photoelectron yield that depends on the ionic final state. This observation can be rationalized by the different lifetimes for the intermediate states contributing to a particular ionization channel. Although there are nine resonances within the group, we show that by detecting individual photoelectron final states and their angular dependence, we can identify and differentiate quantum pathways within this complex system.

No abstract