Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Optical physics

Ultrashort light pulses shake atoms

The response of electrons in atoms to ultrashort optical light pulses has been probed by measuring the ultraviolet light emitted by the atoms. This reveals that a finite time delay occurs before the response. See Letter p.66

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Bound electron motion in a half-cycle light wave.

Notes

  1. See all news & views

References

  1. Hassan, M. Th. et al. Nature 530, 66–70 (2016).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Nisoli, M. et al. Opt. Lett. 22, 522–524 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Corkum, P. B. & Krausz, F. Nature Phys. 3, 381–387 (2007).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Baker, S. et al. Science 312, 424–427 (2006).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Itatani, J. et al. Nature 432, 867–871 (2004).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyung Taec Kim.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Physical chemistry: Molecular motion watched

Atomic physics: Electrons get real

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kim, K. Ultrashort light pulses shake atoms. Nature 530, 41–42 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/530041a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/530041a

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing