The Attosecond Beamline at MPIK

Synopsis We report on the status of the attosecond beamline newly built at Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK), Heidelberg, and ongoing experiments. The beamline is designed for detailed investigation of the electronic response in atoms and molecules by combining a versatile HHG-source with a compact reaction microscope. Spurred by the rapid development of fem-tosecond (1fs = 10−15s) laser technology over the last two decades, ultra fast pump-probe ex-periments were able to unveil nuclear dynam-ics in small molecules in stunning detail. E.g. at MPIK, advanced detection techniques led to the observation of the vibration of H2 and D+2 molecules on a timescale of 11 fs [1]. How-ever, the electronic motion in atoms or molecules, which typically occurs within tens to hundreds of attoseconds (1as = 10−18s), remained unex-plored, as the wavelength of Ti:Sa-based system