Strongly resonant reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions on lithium

The process of reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions (RABBITT) can become resonant with a discrete atomic level either in the intermediate or the final continuous states. Experimental observations of the former [Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 103003 (2010)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.104.103003] and latter [Nature Commun. 7, 10566 (2016)10.1038/ncomms10566] resonant processes revealed modification of only those parts of the photoelectron spectrum that overlapped directly with the resonance. In the lithium atom and other members of the alkali-metal family, the valence shell ns→np transition to the intermediate RABBITT state affects the whole photoelectron spectrum in the final state. The strong additional resonant channel modifies entirely the ionization dynamics and opens direct access to the resonant phase of the two-photon transitions, which is common for various single and multiple electron ionization processes. Elucidation of this phase has wider implications for strongly resonant laser-matter interaction.