Attosecond Path Qubits in Strong-Field Physics

Abstract

This perspective introduces attosecond path qubits: measurement-defined two-level subsystems that arise naturally in strong-field physics from the coherent interference of distinguishable quantum pathways. These effective qubits are dynamical superposition states formed during laser-driven sub-cycle electron motion and appear in diverse settings, including short-long trajectories in high-harmonic generation (HHG), early-late ionization bursts in multicolor fields, polarization-selective recombination channels, and momentum or energy-bin interference in above-threshold ionization (ATI). Attosecond qubits can be prepared, coherently manipulated, and read out using existing attosecond techniques, providing a compact Hilbert-space description of strong-field dynamics beyond semiclassical trajectory pictures. A density-matrix formulation makes explicit the roles of coherence, dephasing, and decoherence, arising from continuum propagation, Coulomb interaction, infrared dressing, and macroscopic averaging, within a reduced description that remains far from thermalization. The attosecond qubits framework identifies new opportunities for ultrafast coherence metrology and for probing open quantum dynamics in strongly driven, time-dependent Hamiltonians.