Probing time-ordering in two-photon double ionization of helium on the attosecond time scale

We show that time ordering underlying time-dependent quantum dynamics is a physical observable accessible by attosecond streaking. We demonstrate the extraction of time ordering for the prototypical case of time-resolved two-photon double ionization of helium by an attosecond XUV pulse. The Eisenbud–Wigner–Smith time delay for the emission of a two-electron wavepacket and the time interval between subsequent emission events can be unambiguously determined by attosecond streaking. The delay between the two emission events sensitively depends on the energy, pulse duration, and angular distribution of the emitted electron pair. Our fully-dimensional ab initio quantum mechanical simulations provide benchmark data for experimentally accessible observables. (fast track communication)