Funding period: 2021 – 2024

Project leader: Alfred Leitenstorfer

Scientific staff: Sarah Hutter, Hannes  Kempf, Ron Tenne

This project is dedicated to the analysis and manipulation of the quantum fluctuations of the electric field directly in the time domain, i.e. with subcycle resolution. The experiments are based on ultrasensitive electro-optic sampling with few-femtosecond laser pulses and local manipulation of the quantum vacuum based on nonresonant nonlinear effects. Broadband strategies for avoiding interface losses are to be developed and concepts for efficient generation of synchronal transients with highly nonclassical character. We will also design a more powerful experimental setup, including an innovative femtosecond laser source, allowing us to study fundamental questions still related to this new kind of time-domain quantum physics such as back action in the measurement process.

List of publications

2024

• Direct sampling of femtosecond electric-field waveforms from an optical parametric oscillator featured Special Collection: Mid-IR Photonics
  H. Kempf, A. Muraviev, F. Breuning, P. G. Schunemann, R. Tenne, A. Leitenstorfer, K. Vodopyanov
  APL Photonics 9, 036111 (2024) - published 14 March 2024
   
• Controlling Intra-Cavity Dual-Comb Soliton Motion in a Single Fiber Laser
  J. A. Lang, S. R. Hutter, A. Leitenstorfer, and G. Herink
  Sci. Adv. 10 - published 10 January 2024

2023

• Few-femtosecond phase-sensitive detection of infrared electric fields with a third-order nonlinearity
  Hannes Kempf, Philipp Sulzer, Andreas Liehl, Alfred Leitenstorfer, and Ron Tenne 
  Commun Phys 6, 145 - published 20 June 2023
   
• Femtosecond Frequency Combs with Few-kHz Passive Stability over an Ultrabroadband Spectral Range
  S. R. Hutter, A. Seer, T. König, R. Herda, D. Hertzsch, H. Kempf, R. Wilk, A. Leitenstorfer
  Laser Photonics Rev. 17, 220090 - published 22 April 2023
   
• The 2023 terahertz science and technology roadmap
  A. Leitenstorfer, A. S. Moskalenko et al.
  J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 56, 223001 - published 5 April 2023
   
• Back action in quantum electro-optic sampling of electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations
  T. L. M. Guedes, I. Vakulchyk, D. V. Seletskiy, A. Leitenstorfer, A. S. Moskalenko, and G. Burkard
  Phys. Rev. Research 5, 013151 - published 27 February 2023

2022
 

• Realizing a rapidly switched Unruh-DeWitt detector through electro-optic sampling of the electromagnetic vacuum
  S. Onoe, T. L. M. Guedes, A. S. Moskalenko, A. Leitenstorfer, G. Burkard, and T. C. Ralph
  Phys. Rev. D 105, 056023 – Published 29 March 2022
   
• Quantum Susceptibilities in Time-Domain Sampling of Electric Field Fluctuations
  M. Kizmann, A. S. Moskalenko, A. Leitenstorfer, G. Burkard, and S. Mukame
  Laser Photonics Rev. 2022, 2100423 – published 22 January 2022

2021

• Ultrabroadband suppression of mid-infrared reflection losses of a layered semiconductor by nanopatterning with a focused ion beam
  M. Hagner, P. Sulzer, A. Liehl, M. Cimander, H. Kempf, A. Bitzer, A. Herter, and A. Leitenstorfer
  Optics Express 29, 33632 – published 11 October 2021
   
• Analysis of Subcycle Electro-Optic Sampling Without Background
  C. Beckh, P. Sulzer, N. Fritzsche, C. Riek, and A. Leitenstorfer
  J. Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 42, 701  – published 07 April 2021

Further Publications 

• Direct sampling of electric-field vacuum fluctuations
  C. Riek, D. V. Seletskiy, A. S. Moskalenko, J. F. Schmidt, P. Krauspe, S. Eckart, S. Eggert, G. Burkard, and A. Leitenstorfer 
  Science 350, 420 - published 1 October 2015
   
• Paraxial Theory of Direct Electro-optic Sampling of the Quantum Vacuum
  A. S. Moskalenko, C. Riek, D. V. Seletskiy, G. Burkard, and A. Leitenstorfer
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 263601 – published 28 December 2015
   
• Subcycle quantum electrodynamics
  C. Riek, P. Sulzer, M. Seeger, A. S. Moskalenko, G. Burkard, D. V. Seletskiy & A. Leitenstorfer 
  Nature 541, 376 - published 19 January 2017
   
• Spectra of Ultrabroadband Squeezed Pulses and the Finite-Time Unruh-Davies Effect
  T. L. M. Guedes, M. Kizmann, D. V. Seletskiy, A. Leitenstorfer, Guido Burkard, and A. S. Moskalenko
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 053604 – published 8 February 2019
   
• Subcycle squeezing of light from a time flow perspective
  M. Kizmann, T. L. de M. Guedes, D. V. Seletskiy, A. S. Moskalenko, A. Leitenstorfer & G. Burkard 
  Nature Physics 15, 960 - published 1 July 2019
   
• Determination of the electric field and its Hilbert transform in femtosecond electro-optic sampling
  P. Sulzer, K. Oguchi, J. Huster, M. Kizmann, T. L. M. Guedes, A. Liehl, C. Beckh, A. S. Moskalenko, G. Burkard, D. V. Seletskiy, and A. Leitenstorfer
  Phys. Rev. A 101, 033821 – published 16 March 2020
   
• Deterministic Nonlinear Transformations of Phase Noise in Quantum-Limited Frequency Combs
  A. Liehl, P. Sulzer, D. Fehrenbacher, T. Rybka, D. V. Seletskiy, and A. Leitenstorfer
  Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 203902 – published 24 May 2019
   
• Broadband analysis and self-control of spectral fluctuations in a passively phase-stable Er-doped fiber frequency comb
  A. Liehl, P. Sulzer, D. Fehrenbacher, S. Eggert, M. Ludwig, F. Ritzkowsky, D. V. Seletskiy, and A. Leitenstorfer
  Phys. Rev. A 101, 023801 – published 3 February 2020