Attosecond Electron Dynamics: From Atoms to Semiconductor Solids

Abstract: X-ray transitions accessed by attosecond pulses are responsive to charge, chemical oxidation state, and electronic environment, and they exhibit sensitive shifts even with vibrational excitation. An introduction to femtosecond and attosecond X-ray measurements is presented, with a goal of revealing new electronic dynamical time scales and processes in atoms, molecules, and solids. Investigations involve the exploration of electronic superpositions, passage through conical intersections, carbon-molecule photochemistry, the response of semiconductors to the excitation of carriers, charge transfer in metal oxides, and core-level excitons in single layers of metal dichalcogenides.