FASTER: Flexible Attosecond Soliton Transients for Extreme Resolution

Funded by: ERC

Ultrabroadband optical attosecond spectroscopy enabled by soliton self-compression

The FASTER project aims to bring attosecond time resolution to ultrafast spectroscopy experiments in the optical region of the electromagnetic spectrum—the ultraviolet, visible and infrared. In contrast to extreme-ultraviolet attosecond science, which was recognised with the Nobel Prize in Physics 2023, this will allow us to study ultrafast dynamics entirely with non-ionising radiation and without resorting to strong-field excitation or probing. We will create the required optical attosecond pulses by building on the work of the HISOL project. With tailored soliton dynamics in hollow-core waveguides, we will transform femtosecond pulses in attosecond ones. These will be then be used in ultrabroadband optical attosecond pump probe and two-dimensional spectroscopy experiments on a variety of samples, starting with condensed-matter targets.

FASTER is funded by an ERC Starting Grant and will officially start in the summer of 2025.