Real-time observation of interference between atomic one-electron and two-electron excitations.

We present results of real-time tracking of atomic two-electron dynamics in an autoionizing transient wave packet in krypton. A coherent superposition of two Fano resonances is excited with a femtosecond extreme-ultraviolet pulse. The evolution of the corresponding wave packet is subsequently probed with a delayed infrared pulse. In our specific case, we get access to the interference between one- and two-electron excitation channels in the launched wave packet, which is superimposed on its decay through autoionization. A simple model is able to account for the observed dynamical evolution of this wave packet.