Terahertz emission in tenuous gases irradiated by ultrashort laser pulses

Mechanism of terahertz (THz) pulse generation in gases irradiated by ultrashort laser pulses is investigated theoretically. Quasi-static transverse currents produced by laser field ionization of gases and the longitudinal modulation in formed plasmas are responsible for the THz emission at the electron plasma frequency, as demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations including field ionization. The THz field amplitude scaling with the laser amplitude within a large range is also discussed.     

Terahertz emission in tenuous gases irradiated by ultrashort laser pulses

Mechanism of terahertz (THz) pulse generation in gases irradiated by ultrashort laser pulses is investigated theoretically. Quasi-static transverse currents produced by laser field ionization of gases and the longitudinal modulation in formed plasmas are responsible for the THz emission at the electron plasma frequency, as demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations including field ionization. The THz field amplitude scaling with the laser amplitude within a large range is also discussed.     

Kinetic energy release of diatomic and linear triatomic molecules in intense femtosecond laser fields

The kinetic energy release of fragment ions produced by the interaction of femtosecond laser pulse radiation with diatomic and linear triatomic molecules N_2, CO, CO_2 and CS_2 is investigated. In the case of linear polarization, angles at which the kinetic energy release of ions has the maximum value are different from the alignment of molecules though the kinetic energy release of fragment atomic ions depends on the angle between the laser polarization vector and the detection axis of the time-of-flight. For the diatomic molecules, the critical internuclear distance in multielectron dissociative ionization with a circularly polarized light is larger than that with a linearly polarized light. For linear triatomic molecules, our data indicate that a concerted Coulomb explosion process is a universal phenomenon in the interaction of molecules with intense laser fields, even in the circularly polarized regime. During two C－O (or C－S) bonds breaking simultaneously, the C ion obtained larger energy in circular polarization than that in the linear polarization. Different variations of kinetic energy release between the diatomic and the linear triatomic molecules are discussed.     

The dependence of high-order harmonic generation on the laser frequency and inter-nuclear distance from multi-atom molecular ions

High-order harmonic generation from one-dimensional (1D) multi-atom molecular ions in an ultra-short laser field is theoretically investigated. The dynamics of the electron in a linearly polarized intense laser field is analyzed in terms of 1D Schrodinger equation with the Crank-Nicolson algorithm. The dependence of high-order harmonics on the laser frequency and the inter-nuclear distance is discussed. It is found that the optimum range of inter-nuclear distance should be changed to get extended harmonic generation for different laser frequency, and the lower frequency laser pulse is favorable to higher order harmonic generation as the inter-nuclear distance increases.     

Pulse chirping effect on controlling the transverse cavity oscillations in nonlinear bubble regime

The propagation of an intense laser pulse in an under-dense plasma induces a plasma wake that is suitable for the acceleration of electrons to relativistic energies. For an ultra-intense laser pulse which has a longitudinal size shorter than the plasma wavelength, λp, instead of a periodic plasma wave, a cavity free from cold plasma electrons, called a bubble, is formed behind the laser pulse. An intense charge separation electric field inside the moving bubble can capture the electrons at the base of the bubble and accelerate them with a narrow energy spread. In the nonlinear bubble regime, due to localized depletion at the front of the pulse during its propagation through the plasma, the phase shift between carrier waves and pulse envelope plays an important role in plasma response. The carrier–envelope phase(CEP) breaks down the symmetric transverse ponderomotive force of the laser pulse that makes the bubble structure unstable. Our studies using a series of two-dimensional(2D) particle-in-cell(PIC) simulations show that the frequency-chirped laser pulses are more effective in controlling the pulse depletion rate and consequently the effect of the CEP in the bubble regime. The results indicate that the utilization of a positively chirped laser pulse leads to an increase in rate of erosion of the leading edge of the pulse that rapidly results in the formation of a steep intensity gradient at the front of the pulse. A more unstable bubble structure, the self-injections in different positions, and high dark current are the results of using a positively chirped laser pulse. For a negatively chirped laser pulse, the pulse depletion process is compensated during the propagation of the pulse in plasma in such a way that results in a more stable bubble shape and therefore, a localized electron bunch is produced during the acceleration process. As a result, by the proper choice of chirping, one can tune the number of self-injected electrons, the size of accelerated bunch and its energy spectrum to the values required for practical applications.     

FM-AM Conversion Induced by Polarization Mode Dispersion in Fiber Systems

The conversion of the frequency modulated pulse induced from frequency modulation （FM） to amplitude modulation （AM） by the polarization mode dispersion （PMD） is theoretically and experimentally investigated. When there is no polarizer at the output end of a fiber system, the amplitude modulation depth is stable by 8%. Random amplitude modulation is observed when a polarizer is placed at the output end of the fiber system. The observed minimum and maximum modulation depths in our experiment are 5% and 80%, respectively. Simulation results show that the amplitude modulation is stable by 4% induced mainly by group velocity dispersion （GVD） when there is no polarizer, and the amplitude modulation depth displays the random variation character induced by the GVD and PMD. Lastly, a new fiber system scheme is proposed and little amplitude modulation is observed at the top of the output pulse.     

Generation of Very Energetic Ions from Intense Femtosecond Laser Interactions with Rare Gas Clusters in a Dense Jet

Very energetic ions, which are detected by time-of-flight spectrometry with maximum energy up to 1.3 MeV and an average energy of 68keV, are generated in the explosion of large Xe clusters in a dense jet irradiated with a high-intensity (～10^16 W/cm2) 50fs laser pulse from a Ti:sapphire TW laser at 79Ohm wavelength. The interaction of intense laser pulses with a jet of argon clusters is also performed and high average ion energies are observed. The dependence of energy of the ions on the gas backing pressure is examined, suggesting that the results are consistent with the absorption efficiency of the laser energy by the cluster plasmas.     

Carrier Envelope Phase Controlled High-Order Harmonic Generation in Ultrashort Laser Pulse

We investigate the carrier envelope phase （CEP） effects on high-order harmonic generation （HHG） in ultrashort pulses with the pulse duration 2.5 fs when the laser intensity is high enough so that the initial state is ionized effectively during the laser pulse but remains about 20% population at the end of the laser pulse. We find that the ionization process of the initial state is very sensitive to the CEP during the laser pulse. The ionization process of the initial state determines the continuum state population and hence influences dramatically the weights of the classical trajectories that contribute to HHG. In such a case we can not predict the cutoff and the structure of the harmonic spectrum only by the number and the kinetic energy of the classical trajectories. The harmonic spectrum exhibits abundant characters for different CEP cases. As a result, we can control the cutoff frequency and the plateau structure of the harmonic spectrum with CEP by controlling the time behaviour of the ionization of the initial state.     

Polarization-locked VCSEL with PM fiber pigtail for quantum communication

Quantum communication is a new technology requiring a stable and reliable laser source for communication security. A new kind of polarization-locked vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with polarization maintaining (PM) fiber pigtail is fabricated as a decoy state laser source. The VCSEL is packaged in a standard butterfly box integrated with thermoelectric coder (TEC) and thermistor. The optical pulse width of full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) is smaller than 400 ps with a 100-MHz on/off modulation frequency. The results reveal that modulation range is better than 4. Moreover, the polarization is stable, and the power extinction ratio is larger than 25. The center wavelength is 850 nm, and the SMSR is better than 40 dB.     

Chirp-dependent ionization of hydrogen atoms in the presence of super-intense laser pulses

We perform a theoretical study on dynamic interference in single photon ionization of ground state hydrogen atoms in the presence of a super-intense ultra-fast chirped laser pulse of different chirp types(equal-power and equal-FWHM laser pulses) by numerically solving the time-dependent Schr ¨odinger equation in one dimension. We investigate the influences of peak intensity and chirp parameters on the instantaneous ionization rate and photoelectron yield, respectively. We also compare the photoelectron energy spectra for the ionization by the laser pulses with different chirp types. We find that the difference between the instantaneous ionization rates for the ionization of hydrogen atom driven by two different chirped laser pulses is originated from the difference in variation of vector potentials with time.     

Weibel instability in plasma produced by a superintense femtosecond laser pulse

The Weibel instability increment is analytically derived for plasma produced at the barrier-suppression ionization of atoms and atomic ions by a superintense femtosecond laser pulse. The cases of linear and circular polarization are considered. Relativistic effects are discussed. It is found that the instability increment is larger for the circular polarization than for the linear polarization. This increment can attain the plasma frequency. Barrier-suppression ionization decreases the increment compared with the case of tunneling ionization. Relativistic effects also decrease the value of the increment. Estimates of the produced maximum quasistatic magnetic field are given.     

激光脉冲在气体中产生的离化波前的演化及其对光脉冲传播的影响

利用带离化子程序的一维粒子模拟程序，对光脉冲与离化波前的相互作用进行了模拟研究，讨论了在原子多度电离的情况下光脉冲与离化波前的相互作用关系.研究表明，由于原子各级离化势的不连续性使得离化波前在空间上出现平台区；离化过程导致激光频率发生蓝移，这个蓝移又对脉冲形状产生调制，使脉冲前沿呈阶跃型增长；阶跃型的光脉冲包络使离化波前的平台区变短，直至整个离化波前分为几个不同梯度的区域.还讨论了不同元素和不同密度的气体中产生的离化波前的特点.同时分析了光脉冲频率随传播距离的关系，指出由于光脉冲宽度的增加，将导致出射的光 关键词： 激光等离子体 光电离 离化波前 激光频率上转换     

Ionization focusing of a short intense laser pulse and generation of wake plasma waves

The propagation of a short intense laser pulse is studied in a gas taking into account the ionization of gas atoms by the high-frequency electromagnetic field of the pulse. The conditions are found under which the ionization structures produced by the laser pulse cause the pulse focusing accompanied by a substantial increase in its intensity. It is shown that the leading edge of the pulse is subjected to ionization refraction at the ionization front, the temporal profile of the pulse becoming steeper. This results in the efficient generation of a wake wave at the ionization front, which is amplified during the development of self-modulation instability. The amplitude of the wake plasma wave achieves a substantial value already at small paths of the pulse in matter (smaller than the diffraction length of the pulse).     

超短超强激光脉冲辐照超薄碳膜电离状态研究

为了进一步理解极端条件下物质的电离特性, 特别是超短超强激光脉冲辐照超薄靶时等离子体的形成与分布, 本文以超薄碳膜为例, 细致研究了超短超强激光脉冲辐照下原子的离化过程. 分析和比较了强激光场直接作用电离和靶内静电场电离等两种场致电离形式, 在碰撞电离可以忽略的情况下, 发现更多的电离份额是来自靶内静电场的电离方式. 研究了激光脉冲强度对电离的影响, 发现激光脉冲强度越强, 电离速度越快, 产生的高价态离子所占比例也越高.当激光强度为1×10²⁰ W/cm²时, 尽管该强度高于电离生成C⁺⁶所需要的激光强度阈值, 但该激光脉冲并不能将整个靶电离成C⁺⁶离子, 对此本文进行了详细的分析. 在研究激光脉冲宽度的影响时, 发现激光脉宽越小, 电离速度越快, 但越小的激光脉冲电离获得的高价态离子越少.     

Ionization of atoms by the spatial gradient of the pondermotive potential in a focused laser beam

Ionization of atoms by the spatial gradient of the pondermotive potential in a focused laser beam is investigated. Rydberg ions, formed during the interaction of noble gas atoms with an intense laser pulse, are used to probe the gradient field. Rydberg ion species with higher ionization potentials are produced at locations where the gradient field is largest. The measured Rydberg ion yields differ dramatically from estimates that ignore gradient-field ionization, but are in good agreement with predictions that include the effect.     

Charge Composition of Ions in a Cluster Plasma Formed under the Action of a High-Power Laser Pulse

A model describing the ionization of atoms and ions in a cluster under irradiation by a short laser pulse has been constructed. It is shown that the electron-impact ionization weakly affects the final charge composition, and the main mechanism of ion formation in the cluster is the over-barrier ionization by an electric field. The electric field acting on atoms and ions is the result of combined action of the external laser field and the intrinsic electric field of the cluster. The key parameters of the cluster beam and the laser pulse, which determine the properties of the charge composition of the cluster plasma, have been established.     

强激光与等离子体相互作用中低频电磁场孤子波的产生及其捕获

用二维粒子模拟程序研究了超短脉冲强激光与等离子体相互作用中局域低频电磁场的产生现象.这种低频电磁场在超短脉冲激光激发尾波场、脉冲后沿产生频率下移的过程中形成.通常它们的振荡频率接近于或低于电子等离子体振荡频率，因而被捕获在等离子体中(即传播速度接近于零).在演化过程中，通常它们以孤子场的形式出现.这种孤子波的形成及其演化与离子运动有极大关系.用相对论强激光脉冲可以产生达到相对论振幅的电磁场孤子波，后者可以把离子加速到非常高的能量.研究还表明，在二维几何位形下，孤子波产生与入射光的偏振态有很大关系.     

Laser-induced Alignment and Coulomb Explosion of CO2

实验研究了CO₂分子在飞秒强激光脉冲作用下的动力学过程,包括分子取向,隧穿电离和库仑爆炸,激光强度从1×10¹³W/cm²变化到6×10¹⁴W/cm². 当激光强度小于分子的电离阈值时,CO₂分子的非绝热转动激发形成一个相干转动波包,波包演化导致分子沿激光电场方向取向. 激光脉冲结束后,分子取向可以周期性地再现,利用另一束激光可以对取向结构进一步进行修饰. 当激光强度大于分子