Adiabatic frequency conversion of ultrafast pulses

A new method for efficient, broadband sum and difference frequency generation of ultrafast pulses is demonstrated. The principles of the method follow from an analogy between frequency conversion and coherent optical excitation of a two-level system. For conversion of ultrafast pulses, the concepts of adiabatic conversion are developed further in order to account for dispersion and group velocity mismatch. The scheme was implemented using aperiodically poled nonlinear crystals and a single step nonlinear mixing process, leading to conversion of near-IR (∼790 nm) ultrafast pulses into the blue (∼450 nm) and mid-IR (∼3.15 μm) spectral regions. Conversion bandwidths up to 15 THz FWHM and efficiencies up to 50% are reported.     

Adiabatic processes in frequency conversion

Adiabatic evolution, an important dynamical process in a variety of classical and quantum systems providing a robust way of steering a system into a desired state 1 - 5 , was introduced only recently to frequency conversion 6 - 9 . Adiabatic frequency conversion allowed the achievement of efficient scalable broadband frequency conversion 8 , 9 and was applied successfully to the conversion of ultrashort pulses, demonstrating near‐100% efficiency for ultrabroadband spectrum 10 - 16 . The underlying analogy between undepleted pump nonlinear processes and coherently excited quantum systems was extended in the past few years to multi‐level quantum systems, demonstrating new concepts in frequency conversion, such as complete frequency conversion through an absorption band 17 - 20 . Additionally, the undepleted pump restriction was removed, enabling the exploration of adiabatic processes in the fully nonlinear dynamics regime of nonlinear optics 21 - 26 . In this article, the basic concept of adiabatic frequency conversion is introduced, and recent advances in ultrashort physics, multi‐process systems, and the fully nonlinear dynamics regime are reviewed.     

Spatial ultrafast switching and frequency conversion in lithium niobate waveguide arrays

We demonstrate phase-insensitive, ultrafast, all-optical spatial switching and frequency conversion in quadratically nonlinear waveguide arrays in periodically poled lithium niobate. Routing of milliwatt signals with wavelengths in the communication band (1550 nm) is achieved without pulse distortions by parametric interaction with a control beam with 10-W power and wavelengths near 775 nm.     

Soliton mechanism of acoustic pulse frequency conversion to the red region

Self-scattering of a transverse acoustic pulse from a longitudinal strain video pulse (induced by an acoustic pulse) in a paramagnetic crystal in a magnetic field is predicted. This effect is accompanied by a continuous frequency shift of the hypersonic pulse to the red region; this shift is proportional to the pulse intensity.     

Saturation of resonant frequency conversion processes in cadmium vapour

We have investigated two-photon resonant up conversion of 375 to 159 nm coherent radiation using the four-frequency process ₁₅₉=2₃₇₅+₁₀₄₀ in cadmium vapour, where the ir component (1040 nm) is internally generated by the 375 nm pump tuned to the Cd two-photon transition 5s ^{2 1} S ₀5s6s ¹ S ₀. Scaling laws and tuning behaviour of both the 159 and 1040 nm output power were measured up to 1×10⁸ W cm^–2 pump intensity and 2×10¹⁷ cm^–3 Cd number density. The results are compared to numerical calculations based on semiclassical theory in a stationary perturbation approximation up to third order. Here, in accordance with experimental results, the ir component was assumed to originate from a superposition of stimulated emission and parametric generation. The observed saturation effects turned out to be mainly due to population changes of the atomic levels involved and are qualitatively reproduced by calculations. Discrepancies with respect to absolute output levels are discussed in terms of the approximations in the theoretical formalism.     

Unifying ultrafast magnetization dynamics

We present a microscopic model that successfully explains the ultrafast equilibration of magnetic order in ferromagnetic metals at a time scale tau(M) of only a few hundred femtoseconds after pulsed laser excitation. It is found that tau(M) can be directly related to the so-called Gilbert damping factor sigma that describes damping of GHz precessional motion of the magnetization vector. Independent of the spin-scattering mechanism, an appealingly simple equation relating the two key parameters via the Curie temperature T(C) is derived, tau(M) approximately c(0)h/k(B)T(C)sigma, with h and k(B) the Planck and Boltzmann constants, respectively, and the prefactor c(0) approximately 1/4). We argue that phonon-mediated spin-flip scattering may contribute significantly to the sub-ps response.     

边带和频作用在宽频带激光频率转换中的贡献限制

本文从单色平面波无吸收损耗三频耦合波方程,小信号近似出发,计算了KDP、ADP、BBO、LiIO_3和LiNbO_3等晶体(1.064μm激光倍频、三倍频、四倍频)的光谱和角度接收半宽Δλ_A、Δθ_(FW),从而为选择宽频带激光频率转换所用的晶体及匹配类型提供了依据。给出了宽频带锁模激光倍频方程,并得出窄频带下二次谐波加强因子(2N~3+N)/3,表明边带和频作用对锁模激光脉冲具有更大的贡献。     

Soliton dynamics in the Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten model

Exact solutions for the classical Wess-Zumino-Novikov-Witten model are constructed by the matrix Darboux transformation method. The behavior of one- and two-soliton solutions is analyzed. The formula for an N-soliton solution is given. The corresponding linearized problem is considered.     

Soliton dynamics in a spin nematic

One-dimensional localized waves, which can be considered as soliton elementary excitations, exist in a magnet with a unit spin and comparable bilinear and biquadratic spin-spin interactions, with which the state of spin nematic is realized. These excitations are characterized by a certain momentum P and a certain energy E. The structure of these solitons has been found, and the E = E(P) dependence, which plays the role of the dispersion law of these soliton elementary excitations, has been constructed. The energy of a soliton with a certain momentum is shown to be lower than that of the quasiparticles of a linear theory. At small momenta, these E = E(P) dependences of the soliton and quasiparticles coincide asymptotically. The dependence of the soliton energy on the soliton momentum is a periodic function with a period P ₀ = π?/a, whose value does not depend on exchange integrals and depends only on a single crystal parameter, namely, the interatomic distance a. These soliton excitations have common features with the so-called Lieb states, which are well known in many condensed matter models.     

Soliton formation processes in optically dense media

Numerical methods are used to investigate the characteristics of soliton formation when optical pulses of arbitrary shape and duration propagate in resonantly absorbing media of large optical thickness. It is shown that a regime of soliton propagation in a resonant medium, characterized by a nonlinear Schrödinger equation model, changes to a self-induced transparency regime. Incoherent steady-state interaction conditions are then replaced by coherent interaction. This effect can be utilized to compress laser pulses.V. D. Kuznetsov Siberian Physicotechnical Institute at the State University, Tomsk. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 95–99, October, 1994.     

Soliton dynamics in a modified Yakushevich model

We study a modified Yakushevich model with different disc diameters representing different bases and find two new in-phase solitonic solutions. We also discuss here the effect of helical structure which acts as perturbation on soliton centre of mass.     

Optomechanical-organized multipulse dynamics in ultrafast fiber laser

A novel organized multipulse pattern and its birth dynamics under strong optomechanical effect in microfiber-assisted ultrafast fiber laser are investigated in this work. The background pulses are observed to obviously exhibit selectively amplifying self-organized process of evolving into quasi-stable equidistant clusters. The radio frequency spectrum of the multipulse pattern displays a harmonic mode-locking-like behavior with a repetition rate of 2.0138 GHz, corresponding to the frequency of torsional-radial (TR_2m) acoustic mode in microfiber. The results show the evidence of optomechanical effect in dominating the birth dynamics and pattern of multipulse.     

Soliton dynamics in a two-level medium with pumping

A perturbation theory is developed for a system of evolution equations close to integrable systems in the method of inverse scattering with a spectral parameter depending on variables. This theory is used for analyzing the evolution features for soliton light pulses in a two-level medium with the upper level pumping taking into account linear and nonlinear losses as well as dispersion. Various modes of soliton evolution (including the random mode) in such a system are investigated numerically. It is shown that anomalies in the dependence of soliton parameters on the length of the laser medium appear in the presence of nonuniform broadening in the case when the upper level pumping rate and inverse population losses are functions of detuning. The contribution from the radiative component of the solution is also analyzed taking into account perturbations; it is shown that this contribution can be disregarded in a certain range of parameters.     

Soliton dynamics in directional couplers with variable coupling

The problem of soliton propagation in a system of tunnel-coupled fibers in the case when a coupling parameter depends on a coordinate along a fiber is considered. It is shown, that at periodic modulation of coupling both the parametric resonance of solitons and their dynamic stochastization are possibly depending on the initial conditions, while in the case of a random coupling parameter the stochastic parametric resonance of solitons arises.     

Spin-flip processes and ultrafast magnetization dynamics in Co: Unifying the microscopic and macroscopic view of femtosecond magnetism

The femtosecond magnetization dynamics of a thin cobalt film excited with ultrashort laser pulses has been studied using two complementary pump-probe techniques, namely, spin-, energy-, and time-resolved photoemission and the time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. Combining the two methods, it is possible to identify the microscopic electron spin-flip mechanisms responsible for the ultrafast macroscopic magnetization dynamics of the cobalt film. In particular, we show that electron-magnon excitation does not affect the overall magnetization even though it is an efficient spin-flip channel on the sub-200 fs time scale. Instead, we find experimental evidence for the relevance of Elliott-Yafet-type spin-flip processes for the ultrafast demagnetization taking place on a time scale of 300 fs.     

Spectral patterns and ultrafast dynamics in planar acetylene

A diabatic correlation diagram procedure is used to classify energy and intensity patterns in a planar model for coupled stretches and bends of acetylene using an effective spectroscopic fitting Hamiltonian. Analysis with polyad phase spheres accounts for the observed patterns in terms of classical phase space structure and bifurcations of the normal modes. Received 29 August 2000 and Received in final form 14 September 2000     

Soliton dynamics in damped and forced Boussinesq equations

We investigate the dynamics of a lattice soliton on a monatomic chain in the presence of damping and external forces. We consider Stokes and hydrodynamical damping. In the quasi-continuum limit the discrete system leads to a damped and forced Boussinesq equation. By using a multiple-scale perturbation expansion up to second order in the framework of the quasi-continuum approach we derive a general expression for the first-order velocity correction which improves previous results. We compare the soliton position and shape predicted by the theory with simulations carried out on the level of the monatomic chain system as well as on the level of the quasi-continuum limit system. For this purpose we restrict ourselves to specific examples, namely potentials with cubic and quartic anharmonicities as well as the truncated Morse potential, without taking into account external forces. For both types of damping we find a good agreement with the numerical simulations both for the soliton position and for the tail which appears at the rear of the soliton. Moreover we clarify why the quasi-continuum approximation is better in the hydrodynamical damping case than in the Stokes damping case. Received 22 August 2001 and Received in final form 7 December 2001