Trapped-particle instability leading to bursting in stimulated Raman scattering simulations

Nonlinear, kinetic simulations of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) under laser-fusion conditions present a bursting behavior. Different explanations for this regime have been given in previous studies: saturation of SRS by increased nonlinear Landau damping [K. Estabrook et al., Phys. Fluids B 1, 1282 (1989)]], and detuning due to the nonlinear frequency shift of the plasma wave [H. X. Vu et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 4306 (2001)]]. Another mechanism, also assigning a key role to the trapped electrons is proposed here: the breakup of the plasma wave through the trapped-particle instability.     

Increase of the stimulated Raman scattering threshold at droplets by spectral broadening of nanosecond laser pulses

We show that the threshold of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) from single micro‐droplets increases with the bandwidth of the pulsed excitation laser radiation. SRS thresholds were experimentally investigated for two droplet sizes and two excitation bandwidths. For the narrowband excitation, a frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser with a central wavelength of 532 nm, a full width half maximum (FWHM) bandwidth of 0.05 nm and a repetition rate of 10 Hz was used. For the comparison with the broadband excitation, a dye resonator containing Rhodamine 6G being pumped by the Nd:YAG laser was utilized with a central wavelength of 566 nm and a FWHM bandwidth of 4 nm. Droplets of 89 and 116 µm diameters, respectively, were illuminated by a vertical light sheet. If the broadband excitation is applied instead of the narrowband excitation ‐ for both droplet sizes ‐ the pulsed excitation energies can be increased by a factor of approximately 5 before the SRS threshold is reached. The multiplication register of an emCCD detector was used to detect low signals. The gain factor of the detector was calibrated and adapted to different excitation energies and signal intensities. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical-acoustic soliton under the conditions of slow light and stimulated Mandelstam-Brillouin scattering

The possibility of forming a stable optical-acoustic soliton in the regime of electromagnetically induced transparency has been analyzed under the condition that the group velocity of light in a medium with stimulated Mandelstam-Brillouin scattering decreases to the speed of sound. This possibility exists because the forward Mandelstam-Brillouin scattering, which is forbidden in a nondispersive medium, is allowed under this condition. The optical component is an envelope pulse, and the acoustic component has no carrier frequency. It has been shown that such a soliton can be formed for anomalously low input intensities of the optical pulse.     

Temporal characteristics of picosecond stimulated Raman scattering in oxide crystals

The temporal characteristics of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) under 22-ps laser excitation were studied in eight oxide crystals with a T ₂ optical-phonon dephasing time variable by up to two orders of magnitude. The measured SRS pulse width was shortened from 13.8 ps for Ba(NO₃)₂ (T ₂ = 26.5 ps) to 4 ps for the LiNbO₃ (T ₂ = 0.38 ps) crystal. The dependence of SRS pulse width on the dephasing time was analyzed in the framework of the known SRS theory.     

Saturation of the stimulated Raman scattering instability by means of particle trapping

A previously numerically treated model for the effect of particle trapping on the saturation of the Raman backscatter instability is here given a simple analytical treatment.     

Chaos in stimulated Raman scattering

Coherent state technique and maximal Lyapunov exponent method are used for the study of deterministic chaos in a system governing stimulated Raman scattering. The influence of the external pumping on dynamics of the system is investigated. Phase portraits and FFT spectra are presented.The author would like to express his sincere thanks to prof. J. Peina for his comments and stimulating discussions.     

Spatiotemporal dynamics of the amplitude-phase characteristics of stimulated Raman scattering

A numerical model describing the processes of generation of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is developed; the calculations are performed and different scenarios of generation of Stokes radiation in compressed hydrogen are analyzed. The spatiotemporal profiles of intensities and phases of interacting waves, the radiation spectra, and the functions of spatial coherence are obtained by way of numerical simulation for different conditions of SRS generation. A substantial difference between these parameters in the cases of nonstationary and quasi-stationary regimes of SRS generation is revealed. The nonstationary regime of generation is characterized by more complicated spatiotemporal dependences than the quasi-stationary regime. However, in the quasi-stationary regime, the phase of the Stokes wave radiation varies over a larger interval during the pump pulse duration, which leads to a decrease in the degree of spatial coherence to lower values. For both regimes of generation, the value of the degree of spatial coherence decreases with an increase in the conversion factor to a certain threshold value and then stabilizes, which is in agreement with experimental data. The presence of a moving focus of SRS focusing of the Stokes beam is demonstrated. This effect is governed by the spatiotemporal shape of the pump beam intensity (the Gaussian profile), by a high SRS gain, and by the processes of diffraction. The results of the numerical simulation are in qualitative and quantitative agreement with experimental data obtained previously.     

Applications of stimulated Raman scattering

The applications of stimulated Raman scattering reviewed in this paper include: determination of spontaneous Raman parameters and nonlinear susceptibilities by gain measurements and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, excitation of molecular vibrations and lattice waves and measurement of their relaxation times, generation of intense tunable light in the infrared region of the spectrum. The main results of the theory of stimulated Raman scattering relevant to the understanding of these applications are discussed.     

Studies of stimulated Raman scattering

The dependence of the excitation threshold and the intensity of the first Stokes component on the properties of the scattering material, the concentration of its molecules, and the exciting light intensity has been studied. It has been found that the intensity of stimulated Raman scattering lines depends exponentially on the intensity of the exciting light and the concentration of the scattering molecules. This dependence is in agreement with the theory developed.The author are gratful to P. A. Bazhuln, N. G. Basov, and A. M. Prokhorov for the present study.     

Application of the inverse scattering problem method to stimulated Mandelstam-Brillouin backscattering of light

Stimulated Mandelstam-Brillouin backscattering of light is analyzed with the aid of the inverse scattering problem method. An asymptotic solution of this problem is obtained, as well as a solution for weak fields. It is shown that, just in the case of forward stimulated Mandelshtam-Brillouin scattering, the effective-interaction region, in which the intensity of the incident light wave is transferred to the scattered one, shifts towards the entrance face of the sample. It is also established that the asymptotic rate of decrease of the acoustic and scattered waves is independent of the rate of decrease of the initial distribution. The parameters characterizing the initial conditions are contained only in the pre-exponential terms.Translated from Preprint No. 173 of the Lebedev Physics Institute Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1988.     

The buildup of stimulated Raman scattering from spontaneous Raman scattering

We present a quantum electrodynamic theory which shows for the first time how stimulated Raman scattering builds up, both spatially and temporally, from spontaneous Raman scattering. We analytically solve operator Maxwell-Bloch equations to find the Stokes field operator, and thus the Stokes intensity, for both monochromatic and broad-band (phase diffusion) pump lasers.     

Frequency shifts in stimulated Raman scattering

The nonresonant contributions to the nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ produce a frequency chirp during stimulated Raman scattering. In the case of transient stimulated Raman scattering, the spectrum of the generated Stokes pulse is found at higher frequencies than expected from spontaneous Raman data. The frequency difference can be calculated from the theory of stimulated Raman scattering.     

Efficient stimulated Raman scattering in silicon

Stimulated Raman scattering in silicon was investigated at liquid helium temperatures. A Q-switched single mode Nd: YAG laser was used to generate Stokes radiation at 1.127 μm. Time resolved measurements give a maximum power conversion efficiency of 20%. The effects of intensity induced losses are discussed.     

Soliton experiments in stimulated Raman scattering

Experimental observations of solitons in stimulated Raman scattering are reported. Soliton formation resulted from the introduction of a phase shift in the incident Stokes beam as predicted by theory. Pulse sharpening and retardation on propagation in the Raman medium have been observed along with amplitude diminution. The first two features were predicted and the third was not. Spontaneous soliton formation has been observed in the absense of any amplitude modulation or apparent phase shift in the optical fields, indicating that additional sets of initial conditions may result in soliton formation.Work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy.     

Picosecond stimulated Raman scattering in crystals

The comparative values of the peak and integral cross sections of spontaneous Raman scattering and the optical dephasing time of molecular vibrations were determined for several oxide crystals by spontaneous Raman spectroscopy. The spectral, time, and energy parameters of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) were measured for ten crystals using picosecond YLF: Nd laser pumping with a radiation wavelength of 1047 nm. An analysis of the experimental dependence of the threshold energy of pumping SRS on the integral and peak cross sections of spontaneous Raman scattering showed that the SRS gain increment explicitly depended on the integral cross section and was independent of the peak cross section of spontaneous Raman scattering as the ratio between the pumping pulse width (11 ps) and the time of optical dephasing of molecular vibrations changed from 0.42 to 9.3. The gain coefficients of steady-state stimulated Raman scattering under threshold stimulated Raman scattering conditions were determined for all the crystals studied on the basis of the measured threshold SRS pumping energies, the duration and width of the spectrum of pulses, the nonlinear interaction length, the intensity of pumping, and the theoretical dependences that relate the steady-state and transient SRS gain increments. The steady-state SRS gain coefficients obtained in this work fitted well a linear dependence on the peak cross sections of spontaneous Raman scattering, which substantiated the correctness of our analysis and measurements.     

Stokes-anti-Stokes entanglement in stimulated Raman scattering

A cavity model of Raman scattering from phonons by an undepleted laser field is considered. The fields in the interaction are coupled to the boson reservoir that produces the damping mechanism in the model. An analysis for the origination of quantum entanglement between the Stokes and anti-Stokes fields, depending on their coupling constants with the reservoir bosons and on the state of the reservoir, is performed under the assumption of the initial coherent state of phonons.     

水中受激拉曼散射的能量增强及受激布里渊散射的光学抑制

为提高液体介质中受激拉曼散射的输出能量,提出了通过温度调控来抑制受激布里渊散射的方法,设计了532 nm多纵模宽带脉冲激光泵浦的受激拉曼散射发生系统,测量了不同温度下水中前向受激拉曼散射及后向受激布里渊散射的输出能量,分析了水温、泵浦激光线宽及热散焦效应对受激拉曼散射输出能量影响的物理机制.实验结果表明:通过降低水温可实现对受激布里渊散射过程的有效抑制,同时减小热散焦效应带来的光束畸变,从而有效提高受激拉曼散射的输出能量.研究结果对液体介质中的受激拉曼散射多波长转换具有重要意义.