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Timing the action of light on matter

Photoemission, the ejection of an electron from a material on the absorption of a photon, is one of the fastest processes in nature. An experiment demonstrates how the dynamics of this process can be captured in real time.
  1. Thomas Fennel

    1. Thomas Fennel is in the Theoretical Cluster Physics and Nanophotonics Group, Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock, Germany, and in the Attosecond Physics Division of the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy, Berlin, Germany.

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It seems natural that light facilitates photosynthesis, enables visual perception and provides the energy source for solar cells. But the underlying light-absorption process is not fully understood. Energy is transferred from the light to electrons in the irradiated material, which can cause electrons to be ejected — a phenomenon known as photoemission. The dependence of the electron ejection on the frequency of the incident light led to Albert Einstein’s discovery1 that light comes in discrete packets of energy (photons) and sparked the development of quantum mechanics. But how fast can an electron absorb a photon and escape? Writing in Nature, Ossiander et al.2 show how metrology on the attosecond (10–18 seconds) timescale can help to answer this fundamental question.

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Nature 561, 314-315 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-06687-5

References

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