Anne L'Huillier | |
|---|---|
 L'Huillier in 2012 | |
| Born | (1958-08-16)16 August 1958 (age 67) |
| Education | ENS LSH (BA) Paris VI (MSc,PhD) |
| Known for | High harmonic generation,attosecond physics |
| Spouse | Claes-Göran Wahlström [sv] |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | UNESCO L'Oréal Award (2011) BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2022) Wolf Prize in Physics (2022) Nobel Prize in Physics (2023) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Attosecond physics |
| Institutions | Lund University |
| Thesis | Ionisation Multiphotonique et Multielectronique (Multiphoton and Multielectron Ionization) (1986) |
| Doctoral advisor | Bernard Cagnac [fr] |
Anne Geneviève L'Huillier ([anlɥi.je]; born 16 August 1958[1]) is a Frenchphysicist.[2] She is a professor ofatomic physics atLund University inSweden.
She leads anattosecond physics group which studies the movements ofelectrons in real time, which is used to understand chemical reactions on the atomic level.[3] Herexperimental andtheoretical research are credited with laying the foundation for the field of attochemistry.[4]In 2003 she and her group beat the world record for the shortest laser pulse, of 170attoseconds.[5]
L'Huillier became a member of theRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2004.[2] She has received various physics awards including theWolf Prize in Physics in 2022[6] and theNobel Prize in Physics in 2023.[7]
Anne L'Huillier was born inParis in 1958.[2] She was awarded a doublemaster's degree intheoretical physics andmathematics,[8] but switched for herdoctorate degree toexperimental physics atPierre and Marie Curie University.[9] Her dissertation was on multiple multiphotonionization inlaser fields of high intensity. She carried out her dissertation research at theCommissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), near Paris.[10]
As a post-doctoral student, L'Huillier worked at theChalmers Institute of Technology inGothenburg,Sweden, and at theUniversity of Southern California inLos Angeles,United States.[2] In 1986, L'Huillier obtained a permanent position as a researcher at the CEA, at theSaclay site.[2]
In 1992, she took part in an experiment inLund, where one of the firsttitanium-sapphiresolid-state laser systems forfemtosecond pulses in Europe had been installed. In 1994 she moved to Sweden, where she was appointed atLund University as a lecturer in 1995 and a professor in 1997.[11] She also serves as governing board member at theInstitut d’optique, France.[12]
L'Huillier's research involves experimental and theoretical aspects ofhigh harmonic generation in gases, which corresponded to extremely short light pulses in theultraviolet spectral range, lasting tens or hundreds of attoseconds. In 1987, L’Huillier first observed that gases likeargon would react to a laser by becoming excited and emitting additional radiation orovertones, at various multiples of the frequency of laser.[13]
In 1991, L'Huillier in collaboration with Kenneth Schafer and Kenneth Kulander presented numerical simulations of the time-dependentSchrödinger equation in order to understand the generation of high-order harmonics. They first predicted the shape of the high harmonics spectrum and thephase-matching conditions.[14] In 1994,Maciej Lewenstein, L’Huiller andPaul Corkum presented a fullquantum theory of high harmonic generation.[14]
L'Huillier uses attosecond sources to study ultrafast dynamics of electrons in atomic and molecular systems.[2] In 2003 her group beat the world record for the shortest laser pulse, lasting 170attoseconds.[5] These attosecond sources are considered the world's fastest cameras, using extremely short pulses of light to measure electrons as they move or change in energy.[13][15] L’Huillier's methods for studying and manipulating electrons using light have pioneered the field of attochemistry as they allow the study electronic processes during chemical reactions.[13]
In 2010, an experiment led byFerenc Krausz at theMax Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, highlighted a discrepancy between theory and experimental results concerningphotoemission delays inneon atoms. L'Huillier group in Lund solved this problem in 2017 by experimentally uncovering the contribution ofshake-up electrons. By correcting for this effect L'Huillier group found an excellent agreement with theory.[14]
L'Huillier was on theNobel Committee for Physics between 2007 and 2015,[8] and has been a member of theSwedish Academy of Sciences since 2004.[16] In 2003, she received theJulius Springer Prize [de]. In 2011 she received aUNESCO L'Oréal Award. In 2013, she was awarded theCarl-Zeiss Research Award [de], theBlaise Pascal Medal [de;pt] and an Honorary Degree atUniversité Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), Paris.[10] She was elected a foreign associate of theNational Academy of Sciences in 2018. One year later, in 2019, she was recognized with the Prize for Fundamental Aspects of Quantum Electronics and Optics, announced by theEuropean Physical Society. Anne L'Huillier is a fellow member of theAmerican Physical Society andOptica.[17]
In 2021 L'Huillier was awarded theOptical Society of America Max Born Award for "pioneering work in ultrafast laser science and attosecond physics, realizing and understanding high harmonic generation and applying it to time-resolved imaging of electron motion in atoms and molecules".[18] In 2022 she received theWolf Prize in Physics for "pioneering contributions to ultrafast laser science and attosecond physics" jointly withFerenc Krausz andPaul Corkum.[6] Also for 2022, the three were awarded theBBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences.[19] She also received the FrenchLegion of Honour the same year.[20]
In September 2023, she received theBerthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis for "high harmonic generation and attosecond physics."[21] In October 2023, she was awarded theNobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Krausz andPierre Agostini for "for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter".[7]
In November 2023, she received adoctor honoris causa fromParis-Saclay University. During the ceremony, 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics,Alain Aspect was the guest of honor.[12]
In March 2024, she received a doctor honoris causa fromUniversity of Bordeaux,[22] and in May from theUniversity of Porto.[23]
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Sweden:Royal Order of the Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross (21 March 2024)[24]
France:Legion of Honour, Knight (29 December 2022)[25]L'Huillier is married toClaes-Göran Wahlström [sv] who is also a professor at Lund University.[26][27] They have two children.[28][29]
Media related toAnne L'Huillier at Wikimedia Commons
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