Let there be light – Nobel Prize in Physics 2023: Attosecond Pulses to Study Electron Dynamics | 5 October 2023 | UPSC Daily Editorial Analysis

What's the article about?

• It talks about the winners of Nobel Prize for Physics for 2023 and their research.

Relevance:

• GS3: Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life
• Prelims

Context:

• The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 has been awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L'Huillier for their work on creating ultra-short pulses of light that can be used to study the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.
• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recognized their experiments, which have given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules.

Analysis:

• Anne L'Huillier's Discoveries:
  • In 1987, Anne L'Huillier discovered that an infrared beam shone on a volume of a noble gas produced multiple overtones: waves whose wavelength was an integer-fraction of the ‘original’ light wave.
  • Her team also observed a peculiar relationship between the original wave’s frequency and the intensity of the overtones, and explained it using the existing laws of quantum mechanics.
  • If the overtone waves’ peaks lined up, they would combine to produce a more intense peak (constructive interference); when one wave’s peak coincided with another’s trough, they would cancel themselves out (destructive interference).
  • Physicists realized that this reinforcing effect could be timed such that the gas emitted intense peaks with a pulse duration of a few attoseconds, with destructive interference achieving the cut-off.
• Pierre Agostini and Ferenc Krausz's Work:
  • Dr. Agostini and company demonstrated this in 2001 by producing light with a pulse duration of 250 attoseconds.
  • In the same year, Dr. Krausz and company isolated a single pulse, 650 attoseconds in duration, and used it to measure the kinetic energy of electrons kicked out from krypton atoms by a bunch of photons. Attosecond physics had finally arrived.
• Applications of Attosecond Physics:
  • The specific dynamics of electrons matter in settings with potentially immediate value, including biochemistry, diagnostics, superconductivity, and manufacturing techniques.
  • Thanks to the laureates’ work, scientists have a way to illuminate hitherto unknown possibilities with discoveries of phenomena that live and die in attoseconds.
  • The 2016 chemistry laureates were feted for building motors with individual molecules — a feat with no known applications at the time, but to achieve it, they devised techniques that improved other areas of chemistry.

Way Forward:

• The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 has recognized the groundbreaking work of Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L'Huillier in creating ultra-short pulses of light that can be used to study the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.
• Their work has given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules, with potential applications in biochemistry, diagnostics, superconductivity, and manufacturing techniques.