Recovery of dynamic interference

TL;DR

This paper establishes criteria for observing dynamic interference in high-frequency laser experiments, highlighting the importance of initial and final state polarization differences and demonstrating feasibility with excited hydrogen states.

Contribution

It introduces quantitative criteria for dynamic interference in time, guiding experimental realization with state-of-the-art laser sources.

Findings

Dynamic interference depends on maximizing polarization difference.

Observation is impossible for hydrogen ground state.

Feasible with hydrogen 2p excited state.

Abstract

We develop general quantitative criteria for dynamic interference, a manifestation of double-slit interference in time which should be realizable with brilliant state-of-the-art high-frequency laser sources. Our analysis reveals that the observation of dynamic interference hinges upon maximizing the difference between the dynamic polarization of the initial bound and the final continuum state of the electron during the light pulse, while keeping depletion of the initial state small. Confirmed by numerical results, we predict that this is impossible for the hydrogen ground-state but feasible with excited states explicitly exemplified with the hydrogen 2p-state.