Circular RABBITT goes under threshold

Abstract

We introduce circular under-threshold RABBITT (cuRABBITT) as a new interferometric method to probe discrete electronic excitations in atoms with attosecond resolution. By combining circularly polarized attosecond pulses with broadband (``rainbow'') spectral analysis, we directly access two-photon ionization amplitudes and their relative phases. Time-dependent Schr\"odinger simulations, supported by Green's function theory, reveal strong resonances in helium and argon and a Cooper-like minimum in xenon. These results demonstrate that cuRABBITT provides continuous spectral mapping of bound-state resonances and extends Fano's propensity rule into the under-threshold regime. Our work establishes cuRABBITT as a powerful attosecond metrology technique, opening the way to polarization-resolved studies of resonant dynamics in atoms and molecules.