Attosecond physics is the science of electrons in motion. Inside atoms, this motion constitutes the natural origin of light. In molecules, it sustains life and health. In solid-state nano-structures, it forms the basis for information technologies. Gaining insight into the motion of electrons on the atomic scale and developing means of controlling it afford promise for addressing several grand scientific and technological questions such as the fundamental physical phenomena behind biological function/malfunction or the ultimate limits of electronics and thus for advancing key technologies and medicine.

The motion of electrons, either bound to atoms and molecules or moving freely in solids and plasmas, is clocked in attoseconds, the billionths of a billionth of a second. Control and measurement of this motion in real time calls for a force that is sufficiently strong and can be varied on an attosecond scale. The electric field of controlled light waves provides this force, permitting the generation and measurement of isolated attosecond pulses. The controlled light force along with the synchronized attosecond pulses constitute the tools for a new technology, which we dub lightwave electronics. It allows control and measurement of the atomic-scale motion of electrons, just as microwave electronics permits control and measurement of electron current in nanometer-scale circuitry. Lightwave electronics has spawned experimental attosecond science and advanced metrology to the electronic time scale. Real-time observation of the electrons’ quantum transitions deep inside atoms, their escape via tunneling, and their atomic-scale transport in solids demonstrate the power of the new technology.

The mission of the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics (LAP) is to develop and advance attosecond science. In particular, we pursue (a) advancing its existing branch, which we dub low-energy attosecond science, for steering and probing the pico- to nanometre-scale motion of low-energy electrons bound to atoms, molecules or solid-state structures, and (b) developing a new branch, which we call high-energy attosecond science, for controlling with nano-metre precision the trajectories of high-energy electrons moving at velocities comparable to the speed of light in plasmas and vacuum.

Low-energy attosecond science uses the controlled electric force of synthesized light waves of ever increasing bandwidth and attosecond pulses for exploring multi-electron phenomena in physics, chemistry and biology, steering electrons in chemical bonds for manipulating (bio)molecular structure, and advancing electronics towards its ultimate limits. High-energy attosecond science will rely on controlled electric and magnetic forces of ultra-intense light. Its main benefit: attosecond control of relativistic electrons will lead to attosecond-duration hard-X-ray and relativistic electron pulses and allow the development of compact, ultra-brilliant particle and X-ray sources. High-energy attosecond sources will allow probing electron dynamics near the atomic core, four-dimensional imaging of the electronic structure of matter with attosecond temporal and picometre spatial resolution. Brilliant laboratory-scale X-ray and particle sources hold promise for revolutionizing cancer diagnosis and theraphy.