Work

In the world of electrons, changes occur in a few tenths of an attosecond. An attosecond is one billionth of a billionth of a second. Experiments with such short pulses of light make it possible to provide images of processes taking place inside atoms and molecules. In 1987, Anne L’Huillier discovered that many different overtones of light arose when she transmitted infrared laser light through a noble gas. She continued to explore this phenomenon, laying the ground for subsequent breakthroughs in producing attosecond pulses.