Abstract
The subcycle interaction of light and electrons has been one of the key frontiers in free-electron lasers, attosecond science and dynamical investigation of matter. Capturing the underlying subcycle dynamics of electrons with an optical field promises fascinating vistas with unprecedented temporal resolution. Yet the rigorous synchronization requirement has kept its realization out of reach. Here, by direct spatial observation of periodic electron bunch fringes, we demonstrate a laser streaking concept for revealing the dynamics of free electrons emitted from a plasma mirror under sub-relativistic laser intensity. Field-induced electron beam deflection demonstrates subcycle charge dynamics with a streaking speed of ~60 μrad as−1. This provides us with an attosecond-resolution metrology to obtain more direct evidence about the light-field-induced electron dynamics in the plasma mirror. Our results offer unprecedented characterization of attosecond dynamics and open the way to extensive experimental investigations of the interaction of attosecond electrons with intense lasers.
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Acknowledgements
This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants nos 11874372, 11922412 and 11974251), Shanghai Sailing Program (grant no. 20YF1454900), Strategic Priority Research Program (B) (grant no. XDB16), Shanghai Rising-Star Program, Shanghai Commission of Science and Technology (no. 19PJ1410500), the 100 Talents Program of CAS, the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, CAS, grant no. ZDBS-LY-SLH018.
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C.Z., Y.B. and Y. T. performed the experiment. C.Z., Y.B., L.S., Y.Z. and D.Z. analysed the data with Y.T., J.L, R.L and Z.X.; C.Z. performed the PIC simulations. Y.B. and Y.T. developed the test particle model. Y.X., X.L. and Y.L. developed and maintained the laser sources. All authors participated in the interpretation of the results. C.Z., Y.Z. and Y.T. wrote the manuscript. R.L., J.L. and Y.T. designed and directed the project.
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Zhou, C., Bai, Y., Song, L. et al. Direct mapping of attosecond electron dynamics. Nat. Photonics 15, 216–221 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-00730-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-00730-6
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