Experimental control of quantum-mechanical entanglement in an attosecond pump-probe experiment

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how the degree of quantum entanglement in an ionization process can be controlled by shaping attosecond laser pulses, impacting the study of ultrafast quantum phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a method to manipulate entanglement in pump-probe experiments using tailored attosecond pulses, advancing control in quantum dynamics studies.

Findings

Entanglement degree can be tuned via spectral shaping of laser pulses.

Control of vibrational coherence in ions is achieved through pulse tailoring.

Experimental evidence links pulse properties to quantum entanglement levels.

Abstract

Entanglement is one of the most intriguing aspects of quantum mechanics and lies at the heart of the ongoing Second Quantum Revolution, where it is a resource that is used in quantum key distribution, quantum computing and quantum teleportation. We report experiments demonstrating the crucial role that entanglement plays in pump-probe experiments involving ionization, which are a hallmark of the novel research field of attosecond science. We demonstrate that the degree of entanglement in a bipartite ion plus photoelectron system, and, as a consequence, the degree of vibrational coherence in the ion, can be controlled by tailoring the spectral properties of the attosecond extreme ultra-violet laser pulses that are used to create them.