On January 10th, the construction of the Advanced Attosecond Laser Infrastructure (AALI), a key national scientific infrastructure project led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), officially began in Dongguan. The AALIproject is designed with 10 beamlines and 22 research terminals. Currently, six beamlines are under construction by the Institute of Physics of CAS, with the remaining four to be built in Xi'an by the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics of CAS.

One attosecond is one quintillionth of a second, and is the shortest time scale humans can measure. In one second, light can circle the Earth's equator seven and a half times (300,000 kilometers). However, in one attosecond, the distance light travels is only on the scale of an atom (about 0.3 nanometers), the same distance an electron travels within an atom. Therefore, attosecond lasers enable the observation of electron motion, a significant leap in scientific progress.

These lasers act as "ultra-high-speed cameras," capturing the dynamic images of fast-moving electrons and recording their movements, quantum properties, magnetic changes, chemical reactions, and material phase transitions. This technology provides new means to study major scientific issues in physics, chemistry, materials science, information technology, and biomedicine, promising breakthroughs in both fundamental and applied sciences.

This facility is planned for completion in five years, aiming to create a comprehensive ultrafast electron dynamics research facility with attosecond time resolution and high spatiotemporal coherence. This will allow for the tracking, measurement, and manipulation of electron motion to explore the evolution of material states.

Once operational, the facility will significantly impact China's basic research and high-tech industries. It will also become a new symbol of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, driving advancements in major scientific frontiers and producing significant outcomes.

Source: Lingnan On the Cloud

先进阿秒激光设施在东莞正式开建

1月10日，国家重大科技基础设施——先进阿秒激光设施在东莞正式开工建设。该设施由中国科学院承担建设，共布局10条束线和22个应用终端。本次开工建设的束线共6条，由中国科学院物理研究所负责；另外4条束线将在陕西西安建设，由中国科学院西安光学精密机械研究所负责。

阿秒，是人类目前能够掌握的最短时间尺度，1阿秒仅为一百亿亿分之一秒。1秒钟时间内，光可以穿越30万千米，相当于绕地球赤道7圈半。然而，在1阿秒的时间内，光的传播距离仅为原子的大小（约0.3纳米），也相当于电子在原子中的穿行距离。阿秒激光的出现，使得观测电子的运动成为现实，是科学发展史上具有里程碑意义的重大突破。

阿秒激光像一台“超高速摄像机”，用于捕捉运动极快的电子的“动态影像”，记录它们的运动及其所决定的量子特性、磁性变化、化学反应和材料相变等现象。阿秒激光为研究物理、化学、材料、信息、生物医学等学科中的重大科学问题提供了全新的技术手段，有望在基础研究和产业技术领域催生新突破，因此具有重要的科学意义和战略意义。

先进阿秒激光设施计划用5年时间建设具有阿秒时间分辨能力和高度时空相干性特征的综合性超快电子动力学研究设施，从而实现对电子运动的跟踪、测量与操控，深入探索物质状态的演化规律。

据悉，先进阿秒激光设施建成后，将在我国基础前沿、高科技产业等多个领域发挥重要作用。同时，先进阿秒激光设施将成为粤港澳大湾区的新名片之一，有望促进重大科技前沿问题的突破和重大成果的产出。

文丨记者 余晓玲
图丨新华社
翻译丨史洋溢
审校丨王枥焓