Attosecond pump probe: exploring ultrafast electron motion inside an atom

The attosecond pump probe, in close analogy to the standard femtosecond probing technique, has been proposed and theoretically demonstrated with its application to explore ultrafast electron motions inside atoms. We have performed realistic modeling for the full dynamics of both the femtosecond pumping and the attosecond probing processes. Our simulations have illustrated that an ultrashort oscillation period of 2.0 fs can be mapped out for a wave packet in low-lying excited states of the helium atom. This opens the prospect of a wealth of similar pump probe experiments to examine ultrafast electronic or atomic motions.