Observation of Attosecond Light Localization in Higher Order Harmonic Generation

Abstract

The superposition of selected higher order harmonics and continuous background, produced in Ar gas through two time delayed 60 fs pulses at 800 nm, is measured as a function of their delay time. An isolated less than 100 as sharp feature, indicative for pulse production in the attosecond regime, followed by a subfemtosecond beating, indicative for the production of trains of sub-fs XUV pulses, is clearly observable in the resulting temporal trace. The trace Fourier transforms to a frequency spectrum composed of harmonics from the selected ensemble and a continuous background that correlates with the observed ultrashort feature. Numerical simulation spectra encompass similar temporal localization.