This year's Nobel Prize in Physics honors the pioneering work in the field of attosecond physics by Anne L'Huillier from Lund University, Pierre Agostini from Ohio State University and Ferenc Krausz from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics.
An attosecond is only a billionth of a billionth of a second long. This is the incredibly short time span in which electrons, for example, move in atoms and molecules. With the groundbreaking experimental methods developed by the three scientists, attosecond-short laser flashes can be generated. This makes it possible to study the very fast movements of electrons in atoms and molecules and gain insights into microscopic dynamic processes in matter, for example in chemical reactions.
In a public lecture in German, Prof. Michael Köhl will explain what attosecond physics and the work of the three Nobel Prize winners is all about. There will be plenty of time for questions after the lecture.
Michael Köhl has been a professor at the Physikalisches Institut since 2013 and heads the Experimental Quantum Physics working group. Since 2019, he has been helping to create new computer and network architectures based on the principles of quantum mechanics as part of the Cluster of Excellence Matter and Light for Quantum Information (ML4Q).
The zdi school lab "Physikwerkstatt Rheinland" at the University of Bonn brings together a variety of projects with the aim of giving pupils and teachers as well as the general public an insight into current physics research. Public lectures are an important part of the program offered by the school lab. An overview of previous events can be found at www.schuelerlabor.uni-bonn.de.