Coherent control of electron dynamics in metals

Summary form only given. Coherent control of carrier dynamics in solids has become a field of large interest within the last years. The well understood band-structure and picosecond dephasing times of optical transitions have made semiconductors the favourite systems for experimental investigations. Typical phase relaxation times of the order of a few femtoseconds in metals have limited optical spectroscopy in metals largely to incoherent phenomena. Recent developments in femtosecond laser technology, however, have yielded direct access to coherent optical phenomena in metallic electron systems.