Proper Time Delays Measured by Optical Streaking

Abstract

In attosecond science it is assumed that Wigner-Smith time delays, known from scattering theory, are determined by measuring streaking shifts. Despite their wide use from atoms to solids this has never been proven. Analyzing the underlying process-energy absorption from the streaking light-we derive this relation. It reveals that only under specific conditions streaking shifts measure Wigner-Smith time delays. For the most relevant case, interactions containing long-range Coulomb tails, we show that finite streaking shifts, including relative shifts from two different orbitals, are misleading. We devise a new time-delay definition and describe a measurement technique that avoids the record of a complete streaking scan, as suggested by the relation between time delays and streaking shifts.