Superradiance of several cold atoms

A method for calculating the spontaneous emission power of several immobile dipole-interacting two-level atoms located in a volume of about the wavelength of resonance radiation has been proposed in the Schrödinger representation. It has been shown that two atoms cannot, but four atoms can, emit a superradiance pulse under the conditions corresponding to experiments with cold atoms in dipole traps. Various methods for determining the quasistationary mixed atomic states, as well as the generalization of this method to other resonance emitting systems, are discussed.     

Electric field controlled, pulsed autoionization in two electron wave packets

In this paper, control of the evolution of a two electron wave packet through the application of a static electric field is demonstrated. Specifically, application of a small electric field is used to produce pulsed autoionization events, the timing of which can be controlled on a picosecond time scale. The technique is demonstrated by exciting calcium atoms using a short-pulsed laser to the 4p(3/2)19d doubly excited state, which is energy degenerate with the 4p(1/2)nk stark states. Evolution of the resultant wave packet is monitored through the application of a second short laser pulse, which stimulates the atoms to emit a photon producing singly excited Rydberg states which are detected using field ionization.     

Electromagnetically induced transparency; writing, storing, and reading short optical pulses

The spatiotemporal propagation dynamics of a weak probe pulse in an optically dense medium of three-level atoms is studied in the adiabatic approximation under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. The atomic coherence induced at the dipole-forbidden transitions is found to be spatially localized. This effect is used for the analysis of the reversible writing (reading) of short optical pulses. The method of pulse time reversal is suggested.     

Emergence of excited-state plasmon modes in linear hydrogen chains from time-dependent quantum mechanical methods

Explicitly time-dependent configuration-interaction theory is used to predict a new type of plasmonic behavior in linear hydrogen chains. After an intense ultrashort laser pulse brings the system into a broad superposition of excited states, the electronic dipole of the entire chain oscillates coherently, and the system is predicted to emit radiation at energies significantly lower than the first absorption band. A simple classical model accurately predicts the energy of this plasmon resonance for different hydrogen chain lengths and electron densities, demonstrating that collective, free-electron-like behavior can arise in chains of as few as 20 hydrogen atoms. The excitation mechanism for this plasmonic resonance is a highly nonlinear, multiphoton process, different from the linear excitation of ordinary surface plasmons.     

“Trapping” of the Radiation of an Excited Particle by Its Stark Interaction with the Nonresonant Levels of Surrounding Particles

It has been shown analytically that an excited particle surrounded by immobile unlike atoms does not emit at a certain number of surrounding atoms. The necessary condition is the smallness of the region occupied by the particle and its environment compared to the wavelength of a photon emitted by an isolated particle in electromagnetic vacuum.     

Modification of medium phase memory under influence of pulsed inhomogeneous magnetic field

We consider retrieving of a light pulse stored in a medium of atoms with Λ-configuration of levels under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency when a pulse of the external magnetic field inhomogeneous over the medium length is applied to the medium during the absence of the control field. It is shown that the coherence of lower levels of medium atoms acquires a phase depending on the coordinate along the medium and that the temporal shape of the retrieved pulse, if it is recorded interferometrically, reflects the coordinate dependence of the magnetic field.     

Spin correlations in a pair of atoms induced by spontaneous emission of photons

An analysis is presented of the state that arises after photons have been spontaneously emitted by a pair of spatially separated excited two-level atoms with spin-1/2 ground and excited states. Selection of possible decay scenarios conditioned on the helicities of the photons (even on the helicity of the one emitted first) makes it possible to reveal ground-state spin-projection correlations between atoms. The correlations are due to quantum interference between alternative scenarios (the atom that has emitted a particular photon cannot be identified). The correlations obtained by the chosen selection method are classical.     

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).     

Photochemical time-domain holography of weak picosecond pulses

We show that weak picosecond optical pulse propagation through an absorbing medium with a photochemically burnedin persistent spectral hologram of a picosecond pulse train makes the sample emit coherently a replica of the pulse train applied in the burning-in cycle.     

Evidence of ultrashort electron bunches in laser-plasma interactions at relativistic intensities

The second harmonic of the laser light (2omega(0)) is observed on the rear side of thick solid targets irradiated by a laser beam at relativistic intensities. This emission is explained by the acceleration by the laser pulse in front of the target of short bunches of electrons separated by the period (or half the period) of the laser light. When reaching the rear side of the target, these electron bunches emit coherent transition radiation at 2omega(0). The observations indicate that, in our conditions, the minimum fraction of the laser energy transferred to these electron bunches is of the order of 1%.     

Controlled generation of single photons from a strongly coupled atom-cavity system

We propose a new method for the generation of single photons. Our scheme will lead to the emission of one photon into a single mode of the radiation field in response to a trigger event. This photon is emitted from an atom strongly coupled to a high-finesse optical cavity, and the trigger is a classical light pulse. The device combines cavity-QED with an adiabatic transfer technique. We simulate this process numerically and show that it is possible to control the temporal behaviour of the photon emission probability by the shape and the detuning of the trigger pulse. An extension of the scheme with a reloading mechanism will allow one to emit a bit-stream of photons at a given rate. Received: 7 July 1999 / Revised version: 3 September 1999 / Published online: 20 October 1999     

High-Resolution Rb Two-Photon Transition Spectroscopy by a Femtosecond Frequency Comb via Pulses Control

We experimentally observe the high resolution direct frequency comb spectroscopy using counter-propagating broadband femtosecond pulses on two-photon transitions in room-temperature ~(87)Rb atoms.The Doppler broadened background is effectively eliminated with the pulse shaping method and the spectrum modulation technique.The combination of the pulse shaping method and the spectra modulation technique provides a potential approach to reduce background of at least 99%.     

高可靠性脉冲氙灯电源设计

对540 mm18 mm、极间距250 mm、充气压力26 kPa的脉冲氙灯进行分析计算,研制了一台具有手动和外触发功能、氙灯充电电压2.5～4.5 kV、输出脉冲电流幅度3～6 kA、脉冲宽度约230 s的脉冲氙灯电源,给出了单次触发情况下的实验结果。设计基于晶闸管移相调压方式,经由隔离模块、PLC控制构成的闭环反馈回路,控制调压模块对储能电容器线性充电;通过IGBT半导体开关器件产生脉冲信号,经脉冲变压器升压后触发氙灯,使氙灯导通发光。采用简单、可靠的绕丝触发方式和控制信号隔离、电容器一端接地等方法,有效抑制了地电位抬高,提高了氙灯电源的可靠性和抗干扰能力。通过百次的实验,脉冲氙灯电源能100%点亮负载氙灯,满足实际使用要求。     

Study of oxygen recombination with a double pulse discharge

Oxygen atoms recombination at the wall is studied by time-resolved Optical Emission Spectroscopy in a pulsed discharge. In order to observe the atomic oxygen emission after discharge pulse, it is indispensable to re-excite O atoms because the lifetime of O* atoms is short. Here is proposed a technique based on a double pulse excitation. Atomic oxygen, created during the main discharge pulse, is probed in a time after-glow with a diagnostic pulse. This diagnostic pulse is as short as possible to only repopulate the atomic excited states, without significant production of supplementary atoms. The intensities of the emission lines O(³P-³S) at 844.6 nm and O(⁵P-⁵S) at 777.4 nm, measured during diagnostic pulse, are observed in the whole time after-glow as a function of delay after main pulse. The decrease of line intensities is related to the recombination of O atoms at the wall. For a “Pyrex” wall at 300 K, the obtained recombination probability γ is 10⁻³. This value is in agreement with previous results. This work was supported by European Community Grant PECO under contract No. CIPA-CT92-4034, by Comenius University under contract No. UK/1590/97 and by Grant Agency SR under contract No. 1/1322/95.     

Angular resonances in the light emission from atoms near a grating

A two step light emission process becomes possible when atoms are placed near a metallic grating. The atoms can excite surface plasmons in the grating. The surface plasmons can then emit light. This light is emitted at certain angles determined by momentum conservation in the plane of the grating. Thus, the angles depend on the spacing of the grating. Our measurements on light from nitrogen atoms at distances, d, ranging from 10 to 100 nm from a silver grating are in agreement with a recent theory of Aravind, Hood and Metiu. We also report the effect of a nonsinusoidal grating profile and the emission of light at angles which can be predicted from a straightforward extension of the theory.     

GaAs光电导天线辐射太赫兹波功率的计算

在Larmor公式的基础上建立了适合计算光电导天线辐射太赫兹波功率的数学模型,利用此数学模型通过蒙特卡罗方法分别计算了不同实验条件下GaAs光电导天线辐射太赫兹电磁波功率.计算结果表明,增加光电导天线的偏置电场或触发光能量,都能够提高天线辐射太赫兹波功率,大孔径光电导天线能够承载更多的光生载流子,因而可以产生比小孔径光电导天线功率更高的太赫兹波. 关键词： 光电导天线 Larmor公式 太赫兹波功率     

基于波长330nm激光激发多色激光导星回波光子数的数值计算与探讨

采用无模激光器发射波长为330 nm的激光激发多色激光导星,需要考虑脉冲激光重频率、激光带宽、激光初始光斑直径以及大气透过率对回波光子数的影响.通过数值模拟,计算了高斯光束的脉冲激光和连续激光激发多色激光导星在实际大气中后向辐射330 nm和2207 nm波长的回波光子数.数值计算结果表明,在垂直发射和接收的情况下,当到达大气中间层的激光能量为1 W时,连续激光能够获得更多的回波光子数,并且回波光子数几乎无起伏.对于脉冲激光,提高脉冲激光重频率达到50 kHz以上时,多色激光导星330 nm的回波光子数随脉冲重频率的增加趋于有限值;当大气能见度小于5 km且大气相干长度为12.8 cm时,大约需要34 W以上的激光发射能量,才能获得满足使用自然星全倾斜探测的330 nm回波光子数.对于连续激光,相同情况下,大约需要20 W以上的激光发射能量.     

Evolution of optical pulses in the presence of third-order dispersion

We model the propagation of femtosecond pulses through optical fibres by a nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation involving a perturbing term arising due to third-order dispersion in the medium. The perturbative effect of this higher-order dispersion causes the usual NLS soliton to emit a radiation field. As a result, the given initial pulse propagating through the fibre exhibits nonsolitonic behaviour. We make use of a variational method to demonstrate how an initial pulse by the interaction with the emitted radiation can evolve into a soliton. We also demonstrate that the effect of interaction between the initial pulse and radiation field can be accounted for by including, in the evolution equation, terms associated with self-steepening and stimulated Raman scattering that characterize the optical medium.     

Resonant ionization of atomic hydrogen as a source of polarized protons

The method of obtaining polarized proton beams by means of resonant ionization of the hydrogen atoms is considered. The main physical features of the phenomenon are discussed. The conditions are found in which the degree of proton polarization is equal to 100%. The optimum values are found of the pulse duration and the field strengths of the exciting and ionizing light waves.     

Inverse hook method for measuring oscillator strengths for transitions between excited atomic states [1]

We describe an effective new method to measure the oscillator strengths for transitions between the excited states of atoms. The oscillator strength is determined, by measuring changes in the angular distribution or polarization of fluorescence light emitted by atoms in the initial or final state of the transition of interest, after these atoms have been subject to the a.c. Stark shift of an off-resonant laser pulse. The physics of the situation is very similar to that of the conventional hook method with this difference: the roles of the atoms and the photons have been interchanged. We therefore call this new methodthe inverse hook method. The inverse hook method is relatively insensitive to the details of the atomic absorption lineshape and also to the temporal and spectral profile of the laser pulse. It yields absolute oscillator strengths and it is especially suitable for measurements of transitions between excited atomic states, including autoionizing states.