Ionization of atoms by chirped attosecond pulses

We investigate the ionization dynamics of atoms by chirped attosecond pulses using the strong field approximation method. The pulse parameters are carefully chosen in the regime where the strong field approximation method is valid. We analyse the effects of the chirp of attosecond pulses on the energy distributions and the corresponding left-right asymmetry of the ionized electrons. For a single chirped attosecond pulse, the ionized electrons can be redistributed and the left-right asymmetry shows oscillations because of the introduction of the chirp. For time-delayed double attosecond pulses at different intensities with the weaker one chirped, exchanging the order of the two pulses shows a relative shift of the energy spectra, which can be explained by the different effective time delays of different frequency components because of the chirp.     

Spatial control of recollision wave packets with attosecond precision

We propose orthogonally polarized two-color laser pulses to steer tunneling electrons with attosecond precision around the ion core. We numerically demonstrate that the angles of birth and recollision, the recollision energy, and the temporal structure of the recolliding wave packet can be controlled without stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase of the laser, and that the wave packet's properties can be described by classical relations for a point charge. This establishes unique mapping between parameters of the laser field and attributes of the recolliding wave packet. The method is capable of probing ionic wave packet dynamics with attosecond resolution from an adjustable direction and might be used as an alternative to aligning molecules. Shaping the properties of the recollision wave packet by controlling the laser field may also provide new routes for improvement of attosecond pulse generation via high harmonic radiation.     

Chirped attosecond photoelectron spectroscopy

We study analytically the photoionization of a coherent superposition of electronic states and show that chirped pulses can measure attosecond time scale electron dynamics just as effectively as transform-limited attosecond pulses of the same bandwidth. The chirped pulse with a frequency-dependent phase creates the interfering photoelectron amplitudes that measure the electron dynamics. We show that at a given pump-probe time delay the differential asymmetry oscillates as a function of photoelectron energy. Our results suggest that the important parameter for attosecond science is not the pulse duration, but the bandwidth of phased radiation.     

阿秒脉冲测量的研究进展

对于发生在原子范围内的电子动力学过程的观测需要阿秒量级的时间分辨率.理论和实验研究都已证明,用周期量级超短脉冲直接泵浦的高次谐波过程可以产生阿秒脉冲序列甚至单个的阿秒脉冲,将阿秒脉冲用于测量超快动力学过程之前先要对阿秒脉冲本身性质做出描述,传统的自相关方法和互相关方法不能直接推广到阿秒量级超短脉冲的测量.文章详细介绍了近几年发展起来的阿秒脉冲测量方法,分析了它们的分辨极限和局限性.     

Monitoring and controlling the electron dynamics in helium with isolated attosecond pulses

Helium atoms in the presence of extreme ultraviolet light pulses can lose electrons through direct photoionization or through two-electron excitation followed by autoionization. Here we demonstrate that, by combining attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses with near infrared femtosecond lasers, electron dynamics in helium autoionization can be not only monitored but also controlled. Furthermore, the interference between the two ionization channels was modified by the intense near infrared laser pulse. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that double excitation and autoionization were studied experimentally by using isolated attosecond pulses.     

超相对论强度激光与薄膜靶作用中0.4 nm以下X射线阿秒脉冲的产生

用一维粒子模拟程序对功率密度在10²² W/cm²以上的超强激光驱动薄膜靶产生的相对论电子层及其经过汤姆孙散射产生的阿秒X射线进行了研究. 结果表明, 在超相对论强度范围下增大驱动激光强度, 相应减小等离子体密度及厚度可使电子层获得更高纵向动量, 使汤姆孙散射光明显向更短波长移动. 优化相关参数得到了波长为 1.168 nm的阿秒脉冲. 经过对倍频探测光方案与驱动光以及薄膜靶参数进行综合考虑和优化, 得到的X射线相干辐射波长有效减小到0.4 nm以下, 产生的光子能量达到2 keV以上. 关键词： 超相对论强度激光 阿秒X射线 相对论电子层 汤姆孙后向散射     

激光与相对论电子束相互作用中阿秒X射线脉冲的产生

本文对激光与相对论电子束相互作用产生的阿秒X射线脉冲进行了研究.阿秒X射线脉冲是由于激光被相对论运动的电子束经过汤姆孙后向散射产生的.讨论了等离子体参数对产生的阿秒X射线的影响.发现其波长随着入射激光的频率的增加或电子束的速度增加而减小.选择合适的参数还可以获得"水窗"波段的X射线.还讨论了相对论电子束的密度与其前沿的密度梯度的大小对所产生X射线的转化效率的影响. 关键词： 阿秒X射线脉冲 汤姆孙后向散射 超强激光 相对论电子束     

Mapping attosecond electron wave packet motion

Attosecond pulses are produced when an intense infrared laser pulse induces a dipole interaction between a sublaser cycle recollision electron wave packet and the remaining coherently related bound-state population. By solving the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation we show that, if the recollision electron is extracted from one or more electronic states that contribute to the bound-state wave packet, then the spectrum of the attosecond pulse is modulated depending on the relative motion of the continuum and bound wave packets. When the internal electron and recollision electron wave packet counterpropagate, the radiation intensity is lower. We show that we can fully characterize the attosecond bound-state wave packet dynamics. We demonstrate that electron motion from a two-level molecule with an energy difference of 14 eV, corresponding to a period of 290 asec, can be resolved.     

Probing molecular dynamics at attosecond resolution with femtosecond laser pulses

The kinetic energy distribution of D+ ions resulting from the interaction of a femtosecond laser pulse with D2 molecules is calculated based on the rescattering model. From analyzing the molecular dynamics, it is shown that the recollision time between the ionized electron and the D+2 ion can be read from the D+ kinetic energy peaks to attosecond accuracy. We further suggest that a more precise reading of the clock can be achieved by using shorter fs laser pulses (about 15 fs).     

Coherent electron scattering captured by an attosecond quantum stroboscope

We demonstrate a quantum stroboscope based on a sequence of identical attosecond pulses that are used to release electrons into a strong infrared (IR) laser field exactly once per laser cycle. The resulting electron momentum distributions are recorded as a function of time delay between the IR laser and the attosecond pulse train using a velocity map imaging spectrometer. Because our train of attosecond pulses creates a train of identical electron wave packets, a single ionization event can be studied stroboscopically. This technique has enabled us to image the coherent electron scattering that takes place when the IR field is sufficiently strong to reverse the initial direction of the electron motion causing it to rescatter from its parent ion.     

Conclusive evidence of an attosecond pulse train observed with the mode-resolved autocorrelation technique

We report on the direct observation of an attosecond pulse train with a mode-resolved autocorrelation technique. The chirp among the three harmonic fields is specified by analyzing two-photon above-threshold ionization spectra of electrons, resulting in a pulse duration that should be shorter than 450 as, which is, to our knowledge, the first determination of the chirp in the attosecond pulse train with an autocorrelation technique. These results will open the way to full characterization of an attosecond pulse train with its envelope.     

Electron dynamics triggered by double attosecond pulses: Simulations based on time-dependent density functional theory

In order to observe the high-field effect, the external laser field must reach its peak intensity before the electron ionization. To this end, it is important to reduce pulse duration to typical attosecond timescale. In this paper, the interaction electron dynamics between attosecond pulses and dielectric is investigated within the time-dependent density functional theory. Taking the CaF₂ crystal as an example, we give a comparison of electron dynamics response between single and double pulses. Moreover, the nonlinear energy absorption and electron excitation processes are simulated by adjusting the polarization direction of the sub-pulse. Present results demonstrate that the double pulses show lower electron excitation and energy absorption than the single pulse, which is in accordance with experimental higher ablation threshold and smaller heat-affected zones of the double pulses. In addition, the curves of final excited electron number and energy absorption exhibit the quasi-symmetry about the axis of 180°, which has not been reported yet.     

超相对论激光和稠密等离子体作用产生阿秒脉冲的优化

利用一维粒子模拟程序研究了超相对论激光脉冲与稠密等离子体相互作用得到的阿秒脉冲.从超相对论近似的角度分析了电子运动行为和高次谐波的产生,发现当等离子体密度一定时,随着无量纲相似参数S的减小,阿秒脉冲的转换效率呈先增大后减小的趋势,因此选择适当的光强就可以得到转换效率较高的阿秒脉冲.当S一定时,随着等离子体密度的增加,阿秒脉冲转换效率有增大的趋势.这说明用适当的光强照射更稠密度的等离子体靶面,可以产生更强的阿秒脉冲.     

极紫外阿秒脉冲在高次谐波产生过程中引起的非偶极效应

当红外强激光和极紫外(XUV)阿秒脉冲共同作用于原子分子时，电离出去的电子通常会吸收和辐射激光光子而发生能量扩展.讨论了由于XUV阿秒脉冲的短波长与扩展后的电子波包尺度可相比拟时在高次谐波产生过程中引起的非偶极效应.采用H⁺₂作为模型分子，并把分子轴置于激光场的传播方向，通过解二维含时薛定谔方程并比较考虑非偶极效应和采用偶极近似两种方法计算得到的结果，两者相比，前者的谐波强度降低，谐波频率向低级次稍有移动，电子能谱的能带内出现了更多的光电子峰.在相同的光电子能量处，两种方法计算得到的信号强度相差2—5倍.并且这种非偶极效应随着红外基频光光强的增大而增强，随阿秒脉冲波长的增大而减弱. 关键词： 非偶极效应 光场空间不均匀性 阿秒脉冲 高次谐波产生     

附加谐波脉冲生成强的39阿秒孤立脉冲

采用多周期800 nm激光组合它的27次谐波脉冲生成超短、宽频的孤立阿秒脉冲.研究表明,脉宽为1 fs的27次谐波脉冲可以有效地控制电子动力学过程.将其加入到单色激光场的特定时域,可以控制电离概率在半个光学周期内迅速提升,使得谐波的转化效率相对于单色场情形增强4个数量级,并实现单一的短量子路径选择,出现频宽为108 eV的超连续辐射谱,叠加该连续谱140次到210次谐波获得了脉宽为39as的强、短孤立脉冲.与文献[7]中采用5 fs/800 nm激光附加紫外阿秒脉冲的方法相比,该方案生成的连续谱频带增宽一 关键词： 组合激光脉冲 连续辐射谱 阿秒脉冲     

Characterization of attosecond XUV pulses from photoelectron spectra of atoms

A method to characterize attosecond extreme ultra violet (XUV) pulses from photoelectron spectra of atoms is presented. A pump pulse prepares a coherent superposition of two atomic bound states, from which photoionization takes place after variable time delays by the attosecond XUV pulse. Information on the spectral phase of the attosecond XUV pulse is extracted from the analysis of photoelectron spectra as a function of photoelectron energy and time delay. Together with information on the spectral intensity obtained from a separate optical measurement, a temporal shape of the attosecond XUV pulse can be precisely reconstructed. After the theoretical formulation of the problem, we present numerical examples for H atom and show that, depending on the choice of energy separation of two bound states, a different accuracy is reached to characterize attosecond XUV pulses.     

高次谐波产生阿秒极紫外和X光脉冲研究新进展

 近年来在可见光谱范围内已经把激光脉冲压缩到接近一个光学周期(2～3 fs)的物理极限,几fs的时间分辨精度可以描述分子化学反应过程,但是要探测远小于可见光周期的电子跃迁过程则需要阿秒(as)量级的光脉冲。利用脉冲间具有相同载波包络相位的阿秒脉冲序列能把可见光波段的光学频率梳向极紫外波段扩展;利用电子和离子碰撞复合过程短于一个光周期这个时间窗,通过测量激光场椭圆极化率对电子轨迹的微扰实现了as精度的分辨率;通过测量碰撞复合过程中的高能电子的辐射谱可以重构阿秒X光脉冲以及探测强场下束缚态和连续态电子动力学。     

采用双脉冲驱动产生高次谐波阿秒脉冲

提出了采用双脉冲机理来产生阿秒脉冲的方法.研究发现采用双脉冲不仅可以产生单个的阿秒脉冲，从而突破目前产生阿秒脉冲的驱动源（几个飞秒的超短激光脉冲）的能量限制，而且在相同的峰值强度下，双脉冲能够产生强度更高的阿秒脉冲. 关键词： 阿秒脉冲 双脉冲机理 高次谐波     

Generation of XUV attosecond pulses in the process of atomic ionization by few-cycle laser radiation

Ionization of a model two-electron atom in the presence of a strong field of ultrashort laser pulses is investigated using the numerical integration of the nonstationary Schrödinger equation, which describes the dynamics of a quantum system in the presence of an electromagnetic wave. The features of two-electron ionization in the presence of one-and two-cycle pulses are analyzed. The suppression of double ionization in the presence of ultrashort laser pulses related to a finite-time interelectron energy exchange upon the laser action is demonstrated. The features of the generation of high-order harmonics and single XUV attosecond pulses are studied for the atomic ionization by few-cycle laser pulses. The parameters of the laser pulse are optimized for the effective generation of a single XUV attosecond pulse.     

Relativistic generation of isolated attosecond pulses in a lambda 3 focal volume

Lasers that provide an energy encompassed in a focal volume of a few cubic wavelengths (lambda(3)) can create relativistic intensity with maximal gradients, using minimal energy. With particle-in-cell simulations we found, that single 200 attosecond pulses could be produced efficiently in a lambda(3) laser pulse reflection, via deflection and compression from the relativistic plasma mirror created by the pulse itself. An analytical model of coherent radiation from a charged layer confirms the pulse compression and is in good agreement with simulations. The novel technique is efficient (approximately 10%) and can produce single attosecond pulses from the millijoule to the joule level.