Physicists at Wayne State University and Sorbonne University have developed a new attoclock technique that precisely measures the time electrons spend inside quantum tunneling barriers during strong-field ionization. The phase-resolved attoclock leverages carrier-envelope phase to collect more precise measurements, overcoming limitations of previous attoclock designs.
The development of attoclocks aims to answer the long-standing question of electron tunneling time in quantum mechanics. Previous attempts have struggled with significant limitations and unreliable results. However, the new technique has shown promising results, suggesting that tunneling time is very small and deflection angles are primarily determined by ionization potentials.
Researchers led by Wen Li have tested their newly proposed phase-resolved attoclock in a series of experiments, gathering valuable insights into ultrafast quantum phenomena. The study’s findings indicate that the tunneling time is vanishingly small, and the measured deflection angles are uniquely associated with the ionization potentials of species.
The breakthrough has significant implications for studying chemistry in real-time and could lead to new methods for understanding ultrafast quantum phenomena. As the technique is robust, researchers are currently working to develop it into a spectroscopic method to further enhance its capabilities.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-06-phase-attoclock-precisely-electron-tunneling.html