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Atomic physics

Electrons get real

Strong laser fields allow electrons to tunnel out of atoms. The response of such electrons to a second laser field supports the idea that they start tunnelling at a time defined by a complex number, but exit atoms at a 'real' time. See Letter p.343

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Figure 1: Quantum tunnelling and high-harmonic generation.

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Correspondence to Manfred Lein.

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Lein, M. Electrons get real. Nature 485, 313–314 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/485313a

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