Physicists create 3D light field to reach previously inaccessible electron quantum states

Researchers at the University of Oldenburg in Germany generated a three-dimensional light field by crossing two 20-femtosecond laser pulses (929 nm and 720 nm) at a 45-degree angle. The method allowed them to create and spatially image electron quantum states in potassium atoms that had only been described theoretically.

• Two 20-femtosecond laser pulses at 929 nm and 720 nm are crossed at a 45-degree angle
• The resulting light field oscillates in all three spatial directions
• Experiments on potassium atoms revealed the spatial distribution of the quantum state
• The technique could help distinguish mirror-image chiral molecules