dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaAttosecond Path Qubits in Strong-Field Physics
| Authors | Oren Cohen |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | 2601.08793vv1 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08793 |
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
Abstract
This perspective introduces attosecond path qubits: measurement-defined two-level subsystems that arise naturally in strong-field physics from the coherent interference of distinguishable quantum pathways. These effective qubits are dynamical superposition states formed during laser-driven sub-cycle electron motion and appear in diverse settings, including short-long trajectories in high-harmonic generation (HHG), early-late ionization bursts in multicolor fields, polarization-selective recombination channels, and momentum or energy-bin interference in above-threshold ionization (ATI). Attosecond qubits can be prepared, coherently manipulated, and read out using existing attosecond techniques, providing a compact Hilbert-space description of strong-field dynamics beyond semiclassical trajectory pictures. A density-matrix formulation makes explicit the roles of coherence, dephasing, and decoherence, arising from continuum propagation, Coulomb interaction, infrared dressing, and macroscopic averaging, within a reduced description that remains far from thermalization. The attosecond qubits framework identifies new opportunities for ultrafast coherence metrology and for probing open quantum dynamics in strongly driven, time-dependent Hamiltonians.
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"abstract": "This perspective introduces attosecond path qubits: measurement-defined two-level subsystems that arise naturally in strong-field physics from the coherent interference of distinguishable quantum pathways. These effective qubits are dynamical superposition states formed during laser-driven sub-cycle electron motion and appear in diverse settings, including short-long trajectories in high-harmonic generation (HHG), early-late ionization bursts in multicolor fields, polarization-selective recombination channels, and momentum or energy-bin interference in above-threshold ionization (ATI). Attosecond qubits can be prepared, coherently manipulated, and read out using existing attosecond techniques, providing a compact Hilbert-space description of strong-field dynamics beyond semiclassical trajectory pictures. A density-matrix formulation makes explicit the roles of coherence, dephasing, and decoherence, arising from continuum propagation, Coulomb interaction, infrared dressing, and macroscopic averaging, within a reduced description that remains far from thermalization. The attosecond qubits framework identifies new opportunities for ultrafast coherence metrology and for probing open quantum dynamics in strongly driven, time-dependent Hamiltonians.",
"arxiv_id": "2601.08793",
"authors": [
"Oren Cohen"
],
"categories": [
"physics.optics"
],
"license": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
"title": "Attosecond Path Qubits in Strong-Field Physics",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08793",
"version": "v1"
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