Two Laser Pulses Unlock Electron States Physicists Had Never Reached

Physicists at the University of Oldenburg crossed two femtosecond laser pulses of different colors to create a three-dimensional light field oscillating in all three spatial directions. Using potassium atoms, they drove electrons into quantum states previously described only in theory and tracked their evolution.

• Two femtosecond pulses of different colors intersect at a single point
• Their electric fields combine into a controllable 3D light field
• Potassium atoms reached quantum states known only from theory
• The method may help distinguish left- and right-handed chiral molecules