First isolated attosecond pulses in Saudi-Arabia

The science of ultrashort metrology in the Attosecond Science Laboratory (ASL) in Riyadh picks up speed. The German/Saudi-Arabian team of physicists led by Prof. Ferenc Krausz and Prof. Abdallah Azzeer produced as the first team in the Arabic World isolated attosecond pulses in the ASL laboratory of the King Saud University in Riyadh. A big success for ultrafast physics in Saudi-Arabia. Attosecond-short light flashes are used for taking photographs of electrons. The team plans to observe the dynamics of electrons in molecules in the time dimension of attoseconds in order to examine processes in molecules in photoemission. During photoemission electrons are knocked out of atoms by photons (i. e. by light). This process is a major cause of damages to living cells. Increased knowledge about photoemission is thus crucial not only for physics, but also for medicine. Picture: Wolfgang Schweinberger