Attosecond streaking enables the measurement of quantum phase

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that attosecond streaking can be used to measure the quantum phase of bound-continuum transition matrix elements, extending its application beyond pulse characterization.

Contribution

It establishes a relation between streaking measurements and the quantum phase, enabling new insights into complex photoionization processes.

Findings

Relation between streaking data and quantum phase derived

Measurement of quantum phase of transition matrix elements enabled

Extends attosecond streaking utility beyond pulse characterization

Abstract

Attosecond streaking, as a measurement technique, was originally conceived as a means to characterize attosecond light pulses, which is a good approximation if the relevant transition matrix elements are approximately constant within the bandwidth of the light pulse. Our analysis of attosecond streaking measurements on systems with complex response to the photoionizing pulse establishes a relation between the momentum-space wave function of the outgoing electron and the result of conventional retrieval algorithms. This finding enables the measurement of the quantum phase associated with bound-continuum transition matrix elements.