Attosecond Science
Real time observation of electron dynamics in matter
We CFEL-ATTO develop advanced attosecond technologies to investigate the light-activated dynamics of matter with extreme time resolution. In particular, the main goal of our research is to track and ideally control the electronic motion in systems of increasing complexity, from simple molecules to biochemically relevant molecules and nanoparticles.
Recent highlights
Real-time observation of a correlation-driven sub 3 fs charge migration in ionised adenine
20 May 2021
Our group (CFEL-ATTO) with the key participation of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) has demonstrated that ultrashort laser pulses can be used to protect one of the DNA building blocks against destruction induced by vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation. We unveiled that a second laser flash in the infrared, timed shortly (only a few millionths of billions of a second) after the first VUV flash, prevented the adenine molecule to disintegrate, therefore stabilising it. We presents our work in the journal Communications Chemistry published by Nature publishing group.
HELIOS Helmholtz-Lund International Graduate School
19 January 2021
On January 19th we had our virtual launch event with talks on instrumentation challenges in atomic, laser, particle and nano-bio physics. Our first cohort of PhD students gave interesting and engaging presentations about their projects. We are proud to have assembled such a talented and multi-disciplinary team, which will further grow over the coming years.
Andrea Trabattoni became Helmholtz Young Investigator
06 November 2020
Our team leader Andrea Trabattoni was awarded the Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups Program. Andrea will create a new team within our group and study the photo-induced electron dynamics involved in nuclear transitions.
The CFEL-ATTO group will host Dr. Caterina Vozzi
20 October 2020
The CFEL-ATTO group will have the pleasure to host Dr. Caterina Vozzi in the framework of this year’s Mildred Dresselhaus prize. Dr. Vozzi will be visiting the group for a period of 5 months in 2021 to work on attosecond x-ray spectroscopy beyond the state-of-the-art for the study of ultrafast charge dynamics in molecules of biological interest.
Controlled strong-field ionization in Lithium Niobate
10 July 2020
The CFEL-ATTO group collaborated in experiments aimed at controlling the ionization of LiNbO3 with strong-field lasers, gaining new insights on the role of microscopic material properties in this fundamental process through femtosecond laser-ablation, a technique often employed in high-resolution micromachining of materials.