Advancements in attosecond technology and applications

The Nobel Prize in Physics awarded in 2023 underscored the transformative potential of attosecond light sources, which now grant us unprecedented insights into the electron time scale within matter. This advancement has paved the way for the emergence of attochemistry1, a novel field aiming at manipulating chemical reactivity through the precise driving of electronic motion. In this presentation, I will first give an overview of our latest developments towards compact fewfemtosecond ultraviolet sources and VUV/soft-x ray attosecond sources. Additionally, I will highlight a variety of applications ranging from nanoplasmonic field sampling to the real-time tracking of ultrafast charge migration in photoexcited molecules2 with significant steps toward achieving charge-directed reactivity3— the ultimate objective of attochemistry. References 1. F. Calegari, F. Martin, Commun Chem 6, 184 (2023) 2. F. Calegari et al, Science 346, 336 (2014) 3. V. Wanie et int., and F. Calegari, Nature 630, 109–115 (2024)