Ultracold atoms and ultrafast lasers: Hamburg scientists combine experimental expertise

Two separate research fields have been united in Hamburg for the very first time. Ultrashort laser pulses enable us to observe and manipulate matter on very short time scales, whereas ultracold atoms permit experiments with high precision and controllability. In the cluster of excellence "The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging," scientists from Universität Hamburg have united the two research fields and succeeded in observing the emergence of ions in ultracold atoms. Their findings have been published in the new scientific journal Communications Physics. More than a century ago, Albert Einstein published his theoretical work on the photo-effect, which fundamentally describes the photoionization of matter, or the process of dissolving electrons from atoms by using light. This discovery earned him a Nobel Prize in 1921. However, it turns out that the process is very complicated in detail.