Control of ultrafast electron dynamics with shaped femtosecond laser pulses: From atoms to solids

Abstract

In this chapter, we present an introduction to the fundamentals of femtosecond pulse shaping and review recent demonstrations of coherent control by pulse tailoring. We portray control of three-dimensional free-electron wave packets, strong-field control by selective population of dressed states (SPODS) and control of ionization processes in dielectrics. Prototypical spectral phase masks such as polynomial-and sinusoidal functions are discussed and concepts of polarization shaping such as the instantaneous frequency and the instantaneous polarization state are introduced and illustrated on representative examples. In addition, experiments on coherent control are reviewed. Coherence transfer from light to matter is studied on the interference of free-electron wave packets. We analyze control and adaptive optimization of three-dimensional designer free-electron wave packets by polarization shaping. Strong-field control via SPODS is introduced and elucidated on specific realizations via rapid adiabatic passage and photon locking. This concept is extended to strong-field control of the concerted electron-nuclear dynamics in molecules. Finally, we present recent experiments on control of ionization processes in dielectrics.