Among the physicists from Szeged, István Ketskeméty, Béla Rácz, Sándor Varró, Gábor Szabó, and Zsolt Geretovszky were former recipients of this award. Did this recognition come as a surprise for you?
I find it interesting that I have earned the Schmid Rezső Prize, awarded for internationally outstanding achievements in the investigation of the molecular structure of matter, even though I research the optical side of attophysics. I am basically involved in the development and optimization of attosecond sources, but I am increasingly interested in applications of attosecond physics. I am honoured that the prize committee of ELFT has seen the relevance of my work for materials science.
How did you get into physics?
I have been interested in science – especially in physics and chemistry – since I was a child. In my lower primary school years, I was looking forward to moving into upper primary and being able to learn these two subjects. My form tutor and physics teacher at Ságvári Endre Grammar School in Szeged was István Győri, the recipient of the 2019 Professor Rátz Lifetime Achievement Award given to teachers in Hungarian STEM education. In secondary school, I was in two minds about the choice between physics or chemistry, but finally I decided to study physics. I graduated as a physicist from the University of Szeged in 2012 and defended my PhD thesis in 2017.
Are physicists graduating from the University of Szeged predestined to specialize in laser physics?
In my BSc years, I was not yet intrigued by lasers. It was during my MSc years when I decided to continue my career in this direction. Fusion plasma physics was my original area of interest, but I had to realize that laser physics suited me more. In addition, the establishment of ELI ALPS Research Institute offered an unmissable career opportunity. I sometimes hear people say that if you study physics in Szeged, you will necessarily become a laser physicist. This is not true. Nowadays, for example, the teaching and research programmes in the fields of astronomy and gravitational waves are at least as strong as in optics and laser physics.
Attosecond physics is a discipline with a two-decade-long history. Do you think this is what makes it so exciting?
Only attosecond pulses can provide insight into certain details of the physical world. It is a fantastic experience to witness and contribute to the evolution of a field of science as a young researcher. This relationship started about ten years ago and has yielded several publications sparking significant reactions from the professional community. I have achieved unique results in the development of attosecond sources that could lead to substantial advances in related applications. Optica is the largest optics and photonics organization in the world. I am the current chair of the Short Wavelength Sources and Attosecond/High Field Physics (OH) Technical Group, elected by the votes of my colleagues. This role further strengthens my presence in this vibrant professional community. Europe is the strongest in this area of science, but research groups in the US and China have also become actively involved. In fact, one of my missions is to facilitate communication between these research communities.
What are your responsibilities as a group leader in the Secondary Sources Division?
The equipment pool in Szeged is world-leading in its field. Applicants are granted beamtime for experiments on the basis of merit. Our primary task is to provide maximum support to our users at the institute, and it is a challenge to run as many experiments as possible in the most efficient way. At the end of May, we completed an experimental campaign, which gave the answer to a particular problem.
It had been debated for a long time whether it would be possible to generate circularly polarized extreme ultraviolet radiation. In the past years, several methods have been proposed to this end, and similar to other research groups, we too are able to produce such radiation. And this achievement will open new areas for users. For example, so called chiral molecules exist in nature. These molecules are structurally identical but are mirror images of each other – like our right and left hands –, and react differently to right-handed and left-handed polarized light. In solid-state physics, circularly polarized light also plays a key role in certain effects. Paul Corkum, who shared the 2022 Wolf Prize for Physics with Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Hullier, suggested that biological processes could also be studied with coherent extreme ultraviolet radiation. The results of our experiments conducted in May could also be used in this field.
As an assistant professor at the Institute of Physics at the University of Szeged, you too can help ensure a continuous supply of new researchers at the laser centre. Are students interested in our institute?
I give lectures in the MSc programme. There are not many students, but I can see the sparkle and genuine interest in their eyes. At the end of a lecture, a student asked if he could get involved in the research activities at ELI ALPS. I said yes. He has been working with us ever since. My advice to everyone is to choose a profession they love and enjoy, because that’s where one can really excel. I believe and the results show that I am on the right track, because my work still fascinates me. If you are passionate about what you do, if your work is your hobby, it’s easy to get results. Apart from laser physics, I’m also into travelling, basketball, ballroom dancing and cycling, but lately everything has been overtaken by my little boy, who is now one and a half years old.
Photos: Gábor Balázs
Author: Zoltán Ötvös