PhD Positions Gas-phase Attosecond Molecular Dynamics and Attosecond Light-matter Interaction in Dense Media, MPIK, Heidelberg, Germany

The Max Planck Insitute offer new opportunities for PhD projects in the area of experimental strong-field physics and ultrafast light-matter interaction. We are interested in understanding and steering/controlling the fundamental laser-driven (nonlinear) quantum dynamics of electron motion within small atoms and molecules. Hereby we pursue a bottom-up approach with the goal to obtain a complete understanding of the correlated interaction and dynamics of charged particles in small quantum systems at their natural attosecond to femtosecond time scale.

Within our attosecond projects we utilize coherent broadband attosecond XUV radiation in combination with few-femtosecond intense laser pulses to measure and control ultrafast molecular dynamics, extracted from time-resolved XUV transmission and absorption spectroscopy. Our recent measurements have enabled the quantum-state-resolved laser control of molecular vibration of the fastest H2 molecule down to the 10-fs timescale [1]. In the future we aim to push the frontier of these investigations to increasingly large molecules, including those abundant in the atmosphere. In a parallel project, we have theoretically and experimentally studied the laser control of absorption spectra in dense gases [2,3]. In the future we aim to study the collective interplay of highly excited states in atoms and molecules with intense ultrashort laser pulses, both locally and within the surrounding gas medium. Hereby we are interested both in the laser-driven electron dynamics within an increasingly large phase space, as well as their influence on the shaping of the emitted XUV radiation, both on the attosecond timescale.

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