Anne L'Huillier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne L'Huillier
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L'Huillier in 2012
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| Born | 16 August 1958 |
| Education | École Normale Supérieure, Fontenay-aux-Roses (BA) Pierre and Marie Curie University (MSc, PhD) |
| Known for | High harmonic generation, attosecond physics |
| Spouse(s) | Claes-Göran Wahlström |
| 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 |
Anne L'Huillier (born August 16, 1958) is a French physicist. She is a professor at Lund University in Sweden.
She leads a group that studies attosecond physics. This field looks at how tiny particles called electrons move in real time. This helps scientists understand how chemical reactions happen at a very small, atomic level. Her work helped create a new field called attochemistry.
In 2003, her group set a world record for the shortest laser pulse ever made. It lasted only 170 attoseconds! An attosecond is an incredibly short amount of time, like a billionth of a billionth of a second.
L'Huillier became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2004. She has won many important science awards. These include the Wolf Prize in Physics in 2022 and the famous Nobel Prize in Physics in 2023.
Contents
Life and Education
Early Life and Studies
Anne L'Huillier was born in Paris, France, in 1958. She first earned two master's degrees. One was in theoretical physics and the other in mathematics.
Later, she decided to focus on experimental physics for her doctorate degree. She studied at Pierre and Marie Curie University. Her research was about how lasers with high power can make atoms lose many electrons. She did this research at a place called the Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) near Paris.
Building a Career
After finishing her doctorate, L'Huillier worked as a researcher in different places. She worked at the Chalmers Institute of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. She also worked at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, United States.
In 1986, L'Huillier got a permanent job as a researcher at the CEA in Saclay, France.
In 1992, she joined an important experiment in Lund, Sweden. This was where one of the first special laser systems in Europe was set up. These lasers could create very short light pulses, called femtosecond pulses. In 1994, she moved to Sweden for good. She became a lecturer at Lund University in 1995 and a full professor in 1997.
Amazing Discoveries
Understanding Light Pulses
Anne L'Huillier's research focuses on creating and understanding very short light pulses. These pulses are so short they are measured in attoseconds. She studies how these pulses are made when lasers shine on gases. This process is called high harmonic generation.
In 1987, L'Huillier made an exciting discovery. She found that when a laser hit gases like argon, the gases would get excited. Then, they would give off extra light at different frequencies. It was like the gas was singing a higher note!
In the early 1990s, L'Huillier and her team used computer models. They wanted to understand how these high-frequency light pulses were created. Their work helped predict how these light waves would behave.
World's Fastest Cameras
L'Huillier uses these attosecond light sources to study how electrons move. Electrons are tiny particles inside atoms and molecules. They move incredibly fast.
In 2003, her group broke a world record. They created the shortest laser pulse ever, lasting only 170 attoseconds. These attosecond sources are like the world's fastest cameras. They use super-short light pulses to "see" electrons as they move or change energy.
L'Huillier's methods have opened up a new field called attochemistry. This field allows scientists to watch electronic processes as they happen during chemical reactions. This helps us understand how chemicals change and react.
Awards and Honors
Anne L'Huillier has received many important awards for her work.
- From 2007 to 2015, she was part of the Nobel Committee for Physics. This committee helps choose who wins the Nobel Prize.
- Since 2004, she has been a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences.
- In 2011, she received a UNESCO L'Oréal Award. This award celebrates women in science.
- In 2018, she was chosen as a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States.
- In 2021, she won the Max Born Award for her amazing work in ultrafast laser science.
- In 2022, she received the Wolf Prize in Physics. She shared this award with two other scientists, Ferenc Krausz and Paul Corkum. They were honored for their work on ultrafast laser science.
- Also in 2022, she received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award.
- In 2023, she received the Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis.
- In October 2023, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. She shared it with Ferenc Krausz and Pierre Agostini. They won for their methods to create attosecond light pulses. These pulses are used to study how electrons move in matter.
Special Recognitions
Sweden: She received the Royal Order of the Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross, in March 2024.
France: She was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in December 2022.
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Personal Life
Anne L'Huillier is married to Claes-Göran Wahlström. He is also a professor at Lund University. They have two children.
See also
In Spanish: Anne L'Huillier para niños
