Dr. Gergana D. Borisova was awarded the 2024 Heidelberg Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Dissertation Prize for Physics and Astronomy for her doctoral thesis on “Controlling two-electron systems in their excited state by an intense laser field: Strong-field ionization of atomic helium & Wave-packet manipulation in molecular hydrogen”
In her work, Borisova deals with laser-induced control in atomic and molecular quantum systems. Using several spectroscopic techniques, she investigated how intense laser fields influence the state-dependent quantum response in correlated systems. This led to a novel approach for visualizing and laser-induced manipulation of molecular dynamics.
The newly discovered possibility of visualizing and even controlling molecular dynamics through the molecule itself opens up new perspectives for the investigation of ultrafast processes that are crucial for chemical reactions.
The results of the dissertation were recently published in the journal Physical Review Research.
The dissertation prize was established in 2019 by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation. It is awarded annually by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the Heidelberg University to acknowledge outstanding research within the scope of a doctoral thesis.
