Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization

Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Coherent control of electron-ion entanglement in multiphoton ionization Feng He, Yi-Jia Mao, Yang Li, Takeshi Sato, Kenichi Ishikawa, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6543988/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Light: Science & Applications → Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version 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. Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Ultrafast photonics Physical sciences/Physics/Optical physics/Single photons and quantum effects Full Text Additional Declarations There is no conflict of interest Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Light: Science & Applications → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: revise 06 Aug, 2025 Review # 4 received at journal 01 Aug, 2025 Review # 1 received at journal 28 Jul, 2025 Review # 3 received at journal 26 Jul, 2025 Reviewer # 4 agreed at journal 07 Jul, 2025 Reviewer # 3 agreed at journal 02 Jul, 2025 Reviewer # 2 agreed at journal 03 Jun, 2025 Reviewer # 1 agreed at journal 28 May, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 24 May, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Apr, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 28 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 28 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6543988","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":461356270,"identity":"d3c2e382-3e18-4c42-a49b-98878444cc96","order_by":0,"name":"Feng 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