Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization

Yi-Jia Mao; Zhao-Han Zhang; Yang Li; Takeshi Sato; Kenichi L. Ishikawa; Feng He

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-02151-y

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Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization

Original Articles

- Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 5, Pages: 1652-1664(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  2.Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education) and School of Physics and Astronomy, Collaborative Innovation Center for IFSA (CICIFSA), State Key Laboratory of Dark Matter Physics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  3.Department of Nuclear Engineering and Management, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
  4.Photon Science Center, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
  5.Research Institute for Photon Science and Laser Technology, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
  6.Institute for Attosecond Laser Facility, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Author bio：
  
  Yang Li (liyang22@sjtu.edu.cn)
  Feng He (fhe@sjtu.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-02151-y
  CLC：
- Received：28 April 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-11-30，
  
  Accepted：30 November 2025，
  
  Online First：06 March 2026，
  
  Published：31 May 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Mao, Y. J. et al. Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 1652-1664 (2026).
DOI：

Mao, Y. J. et al. Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 1652-1664 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02151-y.

摘要

Abstract

Quantitative control and measurement of quantum entanglement are essential for advancing quantum technologies. Photoionization induced by ultrashort laser pulses provides a unique platform for studying entanglement between photoelectrons and residual ions

representing one of the most intriguing quantum phenomena in attosecond physics. Although extensive studies have focused on the coherence properties within either the emitted electrons or the ions individually

the electron-ion entanglement has remained largely unexplored. In this work

we bridge this gap by investigating the resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization of argon atoms driven by two time-delayed ultrashort ultraviolet pulses. Employing state-of-the-art first-principles multi-electron simulations

we demonstrate the ability to reconstruct and precisely manipulate the purity of electron quantum states through detailed analysis of the photoelectron angular distributions. Our results reveal distinct scattering-phase differences among various electron configurations within the same partial wave channel

providing unequivocal evidence of electron-ion correlation and entanglement. With the fast development of free-electron lasers

this study establishes an experimentally feasible framework for directly controlling quantum entanglement in ultrafast ionization processes

offering new insights and powerful methodologies for exploring complex electron dynamics in many-electron systems.

关键词

Keywords

references

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