Two-pulse interference and correlation in an attoclock

Abstract

We study cross correlation of a single-cycle circularly polarized laser pulse with its delayed and/or attenuated replica in the attoclock field configuration. In this configuration, tunneling ionization of the target atom is observed in the polarization plane of the driving laser pulse. The two-pulse attoclock displays a robust interference pattern in the photoelectron energy spectrum and the real time correlation between the photon absorption rates from the two pulses. This interference and correlation can be used for characterization of single-cycle laser pulses and monitoring the target population dynamics during the ionization process.