Atomic Ionization on the Attosecond Time Scale

The project extends our highly successful theory of atomic ionization to the characteristic times of electron motion in atoms and molecules taking place on the attosecond time scale. Solution of the time-dependent Schroedinger equation on a square-integrable basis is combined with the convergent close-coupling (CCC) method describing many-electron correlations in the final ionized state. This combined method will be applied to the processes of attosecond pulse production, their interaction with matter and steering of coherent wave packets. This will advance our knowledge of attosecond atomic physics and guide a new generation of experiments involving free-electron and conventional lasers, as well as charged particle accelerators.