Annotation

The usage of classical supercomputers is instrumental for generating accurate predictions in ultrafast sciences such as atomic physics and attosecond phenomena. At these scales, quantum mechanics and electrodynamics well predict the effect of ultrashort laser pulses on topologically trivial materials, provided that the employed pulse duration is shorter than the electron-phonon coupling time in matter (~ 50 fs).

In this work, using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), high power computations and ultrafast harmonic spectroscopy experiments, I will show that the field of ultrafast photonics has reached extraordinary prevision capabilities. Beyond the accuracy of the predicted photon emission spectra, the simulation results reveal insights on the origin of the harmonic emission in real space and on the temporal coherence of electrons in the laser field. Illustrating the laser-dressed band structure obtained from Floquet formalism is also provided.

Taking control of light-matter interaction at the quantum level will enable the development of petahertz switches and the control of multi-qubit architectures.