Enhancement of isolated attosecond pulse generation by using long gas medium

Isolated attosecond pulse generation in argon is theoretically investigated for different gas pressures and medium lengths. The output of attosecond pulse is effectively enhanced by using a longer gas medium with optimized pressure. The peak intensity of the attosecond pulse by using 6 mm gas medium is doubled compared with that of 1-3 mm gas cell, which is usually used in the experiment. Our simulation shows that the distortion of the driving laser waveform and the absorption are the main factors that limit the output of the attosecond pulse for the long gas medium. Optimized generation condition could be found by balancing the medium length and pressure.     

Statistical modelling of the backscattered field in a one-dimensional non-stationary stochastic problem

Within the framework of an exact wave approach in the spatial-time domain, the one-dimensional stochastic problem of sound pulse scattering by a layered random medium is considered. On the basis of a unification of methods which has been developed by the authors, previously applied to the investigation of non-stationary deterministic wave problems and stochastic stationary wave problems, an analytical-numerical simulation of the behaviour of the backscattered field stochastic characteristics was carried out. Several forms of incident pulses and signals are analysed. We assume that random fluctuations of a medium are described by virtue of the Gaussian Markov process with an exponential correlation function. The most important parameters appearing in the problem are discussed; namely, the time scales of diffusion, pulse durations, the medium layer thickness or the largest observation time scale in comparison with the time scale of one correlation length for the case of a half-space. An exact pattern of the pulse backscattering processes is obtained. It is illustrated by the behaviour of the backscattered field statistical moments for all observation times which are of interest. It is shown that during the time interval when the main part of the pulse energy leaves the medium, the backscattered field is a substantially non-stationary process, having a non-zero mean value and an average intensity that decays according to a power law. There are various power indices for the different duration incident pulses, however, they are not the same as those of previous papers, which were obtained on the basis of an approximate and asymptotic analysis. We have also verified that the Gaussian law is valid for the probability density function of the backscattered field in the case of any incident pulse duration.     

Statistical modelling of the backscattered field in a one-dimensional non-stationary stochastic problem

Abstract

Within the framework of an exact wave approach in the spatial-time domain, the one-dimensional stochastic problem of sound pulse scattering by a layered random medium is considered. On the basis of a unification of methods which has been developed by the authors, previously applied to the investigation of non-stationary deterministic wave problems and stochastic stationary wave problems, an analytical-numerical simulation of the behaviour of the backscattered field stochastic characteristics was carried out. Several forms of incident pulses and signals are analysed. We assume that random fluctuations of a medium are described by virtue of the Gaussian Markov process with an exponential correlation function. The most important parameters appearing in the problem are discussed; namely, the time scales of diffusion, pulse durations, the medium layer thickness or the largest observation time scale in comparison with the time scale of one correlation length for the case of a half-space. An exact pattern of the pulse backscattering processes is obtained. It is illustrated by the behaviour of the backscattered field statistical moments for all observation times which are of interest. It is shown that during the time interval when the main part of the pulse energy leaves the medium, the backscattered field is a substantially non-stationary process, having a non-zero mean value and an average intensity that decays according to a power law. There are various power indices for the different duration incident pulses, however, they are not the same as those of previous papers, which were obtained on the basis of an approximate and asymptotic analysis. We have also verified that the Gaussian law is valid for the probability density function of the backscattered field in the case of any incident pulse duration.     

激光与材料参数对瞬态SBS 诱导的激光超声破坏效果的影响

 通过数值求解一维瞬态受激布里渊散射（SBS）声光耦合波方程，从理论上分析了泵浦激光参数及光学材料参数对SBS过程发生阈值的影响。以SBS过程中建立起来的应力场抗拉（压）强度和散射场的反射率为判据，分析了激光脉宽及作用区域长度对激光超声破坏材料效果的影响，探讨了短脉冲激光（约ns）引起的激光超声对材料的破坏机理；讨论了通过参数配置有效遏制SBS过程激光超声对光学材料的破坏问题。     

Self-focusing and defocusing of self-similar π pulses in an amplifying two-level medium

The effect of transverse perturbations on the propagation of electromagnetic π pulses in an amplifying two-level medium is studied. The cases of quasi-monochromatic and extremely short pulses are considered. The equations describing the behavior of the transverse size of the pulse during its propagation in the medium are derived. It is shown that, if the ratios of the diffraction length to the length of dispersion spreading are smaller than certain critical values, self-focusing regimes are realized for both types of pulses. Otherwise, at a finite distance, blowup of defocusing occurs, after which the amplified pulse propagates as if it is a one-dimensional pulse, with the velocity equal to the velocity of light in vacuum. Similarities and distinctions in the dynamics of propagation of extremely short and quasi-monochromatic pulses are indicated.     

Influence of self-phase modulation on coherent effects in five-level system

The possibility of formation of a coherent dark state in the five-level system in the entire volume of the medium in an adiabatic pulse propagation is investigated. It is shown that the dark state formation is independent on the value of the first two-photon detuning from the resonance, which may be changed during the propagation in the medium. In the case of the M-type system with the equal strengths of oscillators at the extreme transitions it is shown that the self-phase modulation does not influence the coherent effects while in the ladder-type system it may lead to the destruction of the dark state. The estimation of the length of the medium in which the propagation effects are negligible is obtained.     

Sättigungsspektroskopie mit verzögerten Impulsen

Saturation Spectroscopy with Delayed Pulses The width and depth of the Lamb dip, appearing in the absorption profile of a weak probe pulse, are theoretically investigated for the case that the strong saturating pulse travelling in opposite direction has already passed through the absorbing gaseous medium when the probe arrives. The latter is assumed to be of either rectangular or exponential shape. Velocity changing collisions are neglected. As a result, it is shown that in the presence of strong Doppler broadening and in the limiting case of high saturation the Lamb dip has a Lorentzian shape the depth of which diminshes with increasing time delay between the two pulses and with growing probe pulse length, whereas its halfwidth determined by the power broadening remains constant. The investigations are carried out in the density matrix formalism taking into account coherent effects, and the results are compared with those which follow from the simple hole burning model considering the level population saturation only.     

Cascaded compression of the first and second Stokes pulses during forward transient stimulated Raman amplification

The results of numerical modelling of cascaded compression of the first and second Stokes pulses during regenerative regime of the forward transient stimulated Raman amplification are presented for the case when the walk-off length of the first Stokes pulse due to group velocity mismatch is shorter than the length of the nonlinear medium. The influence of the initial amplitudes of the seed first Stokes pulses, its durations and its time delay with respect to the pump pulse, the Kerr nonlinearity of the medium on the conversion efficiency, duration and propagation factor M² of the first and second Stokes pulse are studied. It is demonstrated that for the pump pulse duration of 1 ps the duration of the compressed second Stokes pulses in a KGW crystal near the beam axis may be approximately 14 times shorter than the pump pulse duration. It is shown that the propagation factor of the compressed pulses increases significantly because of complex spatial-temporal dynamics of compression and the influence of Kerr nonlinearity of Raman medium.     

A new method for measuring the threshold of stimulated Brillouin scattering

A new method for measuring the threshold of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) based on the generation location of a Stokes beam is proposed for the first time to our knowledge. The length of the medium cell is selected to be longer than the free gain length of pump pulses in the Brillouin medium. The reflected light from a certain mirror in front of the medium cell is chosen as the reference beam, and the SBS threshold is measured by the "jump" of the delay between the Stokes beam and the reference beam. An 8-ns Q-switched single-longitudinal-mode pulse is used as the pump and the typical SBS medium FC-72 is selected as the nonlinear medium in our experiment. The SBS threshold intensity is measured to be 173-178 mW/cm 2 , which is consistent with existing results measured with the transmitted energy limiting method.     

基于光纤中SBS相位共轭的自调Q光纤激光器

分析了利用光纤中的受激布里渊散射(stimulated Brillouin scattering,SBS)相位共轭效应进行激光腔内调Q,产生ns量级脉冲激光的原理,并对利用该效应产生的激光脉冲波形和脉冲形成过程进行了数值模拟,得到的脉冲波形与SBS相位共轭反射率随时间变化曲线基本一致,表明利用光纤中的SBS相位共轭作用调Q具有可行性.据此,对采用单模光纤(single-mode fiber,SMF)作为SBS池的Er³⁺掺杂调Q光纤激光器进行实验研究.当单模光纤长度为1.5 m时,在45 mW的光抽运功率下得到脉宽约2.6ns,脉冲周期58.23ns,平均功率7.35mW的激光脉冲.进一步的研究表明:激光器中相位共轭镜的形成与SBS介质长度有关,SBS介质过长,斯托克斯线之间无固定的相位关系,不能形成相干叠加,SBS相位共轭腔不能形成;SBS介质过短,腔内正交偏振模光子寿命的改变使脉冲出现双峰现象.脉冲形成后其属性只与SBS动态属性有关.     

Superradiance and Raman scattering in three-level molecular system

A model is presented for the dynamics of superradiance, coherent and stimulated Raman scattering from an optically pumped three-level system. The evolution of the pumping and two counterpropagating waves in the adjacent transition are taken into account. The results of computer simulation show that by specifying the pumping pulse area, and active medium length and pressure we can control the parameters of the pulses in the adjacent transition. The possibilities of observing coherent Raman scattering dynamics, which are significantly different from that for stimulated Raman scattering, are shown. The results of simulation show that for the ultrashort pumping pulse the superradiative emission in the backward direction is formed within the coherence length near the entrance plane of the active medium.     

Scattering-induced changes in the temporal coherence length and the pulse duration of a partially coherent plane-wave pulse

The scattering of a partially coherent plane-wave pulse on a Gaussian-correlated, quasi-homogeneous random medium is investigated. The analytical expressions for the temporal coherence length and the pulse duration of the scattered field are derived. We demonstrate that the scattering-induced changes in the temporal coherence length and the pulse duration may be used to determine the correlation function of the scattering potential of the medium.     

Electron-positron pair production in a strong asymmetric laser electric field

By solving the quantum Vlasov equation, electron positron pair production in a strong electric field with asymmetric laser pulses has been investigated. We consider three different situations of subcycle, cycle and supercycle laser pulses. It is found that in asymmetric laser pulse field, i.e.. when the pulse length of one rising or falling side is fixed while the pulse length of the other side is changed, the pair production rate and mnnber density can be significantly modified comparable to symmetric situation. For each ca,se of these three different cycle pulses, when one side pulse length is constant and the other side pulse length becomes shorter, i.e., the whole pulse is compressed, the more pairs can be produced than that in tile vice versa case, i.e., the whole pulse is elongated. In compressed pulse case there exists an optimum pulse length ratio of asylnmetric pulse lengths which makes the pair number density maximunn. Moreover, the created maximum pair number density by subcycle pulse is larger than that by cycle or/and supercycle pulse. In elongated pulse case, however, only for supercycle laser pulse the created pairs is enhanced and there exists also an optimum asymmetric pulse length ratio that maximizes the pair number density. On the other hand. surprisingly, in both cases of subcycle and cycle elongated laser pulses, the pair number density is monotonically decreasing as the asymmetry of pulse increases.     

周期量级激光脉冲在不同密度的原子介质中传播行为的比较(英文)

利用不含慢变包络近似和旋波近似的全波Maxwell-Bloch方程组的数值解,研究了周期量级超短激光脉冲在Ladder型三能级原子介质中的传播行为并与在相应的稀疏介质中的情况进行了比较.我们发现,在传播过程中,超短脉冲在稠密介质中的时间演化规律与在稀疏介质中明显不同,而且这种差别将随初始脉冲面积的增大而加大.当初始脉冲面积较小时,在传播过程中,脉冲形状在稀疏介质中只有小的改变而在稠密介质中却有显著的变化.当初始脉冲面积足够大时,在稠密介质中在不同的传播距离处脉冲分裂为不同数量和形状的亚脉冲;在稀疏介质中脉冲形状在传播过程中仍然只有小的改变。产生以上差别的原因在于稠密原子介质中近偶极-偶极(NDD)相互作用导致的局域场修正(LFC)及比稀疏原子介质更强的极化电场的影响.其中,更强的极化电场的影响起着主要的作用,但局域场修正的作用也不能忽略,而极化电场的增强是由于原子密度的增加.     

周期量级激光脉冲在不同密度的原子介质中传播行为的比较

利用不含慢变包络近似和旋波近似的全波Maxwell-Bloch方程组的数值解,研究了周期量级超短激光脉冲在Ladder型三能级原子介质中的传播行为并与在相应的稀疏介质中的情况进行了比较.我们发现,在传播过程中,超短脉冲在稠密介质中的时间演化规律与在稀疏介质中明显不同,而且这种差别将随初始脉冲面积的增大而加大.当初始脉冲面积较小时,在传播过程中,脉冲形状在稀疏介质中只有小的改变而在稠密介质中却有显著的变化.当初始脉冲面积足够大时,在稠密介质中在不同的传播距离处脉冲分裂为不同数量和形状的亚脉冲|在稀疏介质中脉冲形状在传播过程中仍然只有小的改变。产生以上差别的原因在于稠密原子介质中近偶极-偶极(NDD)相互作用导致的局域场修正(LFC) 及比稀疏原子介质更强的极化电场的影响.其中,更强的极化电场的影响起着主要的作用,但局域场修正的作用也不能忽略,而极化电场的增强是由于原子密度的增加.     

Polarization Kinetics of the Fluorescence of Solutions of Complex Molecules Undergoing Impulse Optical Quenching

The influence of optical quenching on the polarization of the integral (in time) fluorescence of solutions of complex molecules using picosecond pulses has been investigated theoretically. The resulting dependences of the degree of polarization on the time shift of pulses for the case of a thin layer of a medium (with no regard for the change in the intensity of the pulses) are in qualitative agreement with the results obtained for quasistationary excitation. A calculation has been made for the case of an extended medium with regard for the amplification of the quenching pulse. It is shown that scanning of the degree of polarization along the length of the cuvette makes it possible to obtain additional information on the mechanism of optical quenching in solutions and on the routes of deactivation of the energy of the molecule's excited state.     

Stark-chirped rapid adiabatic passage: Propagation of laser pulses and spacetime evolution of populations and of two-photon coherence

On the basis of a vector model, the propagation of laser pulses under the conditions of a two-photon quasiresonance in the case of Stark-chirped rapid adiabatic passage through the resonance is studied with allowance for a diabatic character of the interaction. It is shown that the shape of a pulse propagating in a medium changes, the sweeping of its carrier frequency occurring concurrently. Special features of the spacetime evolution of the population difference in a two-photon transition and of the two-photon coherence during pulse propagation are analyzed. It is established that a complete population inversion and a maximum coherence may exist over a long length of the medium if the corresponding conditions are satisfied at the boundary. A new possibility for achieving a high coherence (close to a maximum value) is proposed.     

Photoprocesses with the sub-Doppler spectral selectivity excited by the monochromatic optical pulse in a thin gas cell

The method of sub-Doppler spectroscopy is theoretically elaborated, which is based on the specific dynamics of a number of optically excited atomic particles (atoms or molecules) of a rarefied gas medium in a thin cell after the action of the resonance pulse of the monochromatic radiation. Corresponding calculations are carried out on the basis of density matrix equations for the resonance optical transition between Zeeman degenerate ground and excited quantum levels of particles in case of the linear polarization of the laser pulse at its normal incidence on the cell. The situation is considered when the radiative lifetime of the excited level is much more than the characteristic transit time of particles between nearest plane-parallel walls of the cell. Then the distribution of a number of excited particles versus the pulse frequency detuning narrows in the process of particles collisions with walls of the cell after action of the laser pulse. The factor of such a narrowing (in comparison with the Doppler broadening of the spectral line of the resonance transition) may be more than the ratio of the characteristic transverse size of the thin gas cell to its inner thickness. We discuss possible use of given sub-Doppler resonances (of the number of excited particles) in the high-resolution spectroscopy and also in high-selective processes of photo-ionization and photo-dissociation, especially, for isotope (or isomer) separation and detection of rare (in particular single) atoms or molecules of a gas medium.     

On the conservation of momentum for a sound pulse reflecting from a pressure-release boundary

When a "massless" one-dimensional sound pulse (mass of a sound pulse is defined as an integral of the perturbation of density over the pulse length) reflects from a pressure-release boundary, its momentum changes sign. This obviously violates momentum conservation. However, in contrast to the case of an unbounded medium, calculation of the momentum in a bounded region includes a second-order term as well. Apparently, the second-order correction to the linear solution ensures momentum conservation in this case. The purpose of this Letter is to find a concrete form of this second-order correction. It appears that, as a result of the nonlinear interaction of the pulse with a pressure-release boundary, the latter experiences second-order net shift. This leads to the generation of a massive second-order rarefaction pulse whose momentum is directed opposite to the direction of propagation of the pulse itself. Appearance of this pulse ensures total momentum conservation.     

Propagation of a short electromagnetic pulse in a linear medium with frequency and spatial dispersion: Direct integration of the Maxwell equations by the finite difference method

The specific features of the propagation of a short (on the order of ten oscillations) electromagnetic pulse in an isotropic linear medium with frequency and spatial dispersion, which were established via integration of a system of Maxwell equations by the finite-difference time-domain method using an auxiliary differential equation, are discussed. The variation of the direction of the electric field-strength vector oscillations that occurs in an optically active medium upon propagation of a linearly polarized ultrashort pulse incident on it is shown to be significantly different from the rotation of the polarization plane (proportional to the propagation coordinate) in the case of the incidence of a long pulse.