Calculation of the probability of photoprocesses induced by ultrashort electromagnetic pulses

An expression for the total probability of photoprocesses induced by ultrashort electromagnetic pulses in terms of the excited transition cross-section has been derived by using perturbation theory. The expression obtained is valid for any radiation spectral width and for various types of transition: bound-bound and bound-free. By way of illustration the excitation of a two-level system by an ultrashort pulse with a controlled carrier–envelope phase and the photoionization of a hydrogen atom under the action of a sequence of two-cycle electromagnetic pulses are considered.     

Spectra for the reemission of attosecond and shorter electromagnetic pulses by multielectron atoms

Based on the analytical solution of the Schrödinger equation, we have considered the reemission of attosecond and shorter electromagnetic pulses by multielectron atoms in the sudden perturbation approximation. We have developed a technique of calculating the spectra for the reemission of attosecond and shorter electromagnetic pulses by neutral multielectron atoms with nuclear charges from 1 to 92. The results are presented in the form of analytical formulas dependent on several coefficients and screening parameters tabulated for all of the atoms whose electron densities are described by the well-known Dirac–Hartree–Fock–Slater model. As examples we have calculated the spectra for the reemission by lithium, carbon, calcium, and iron atoms for two types of incident pulse: Gaussian and “sombrero.”     

Self-action dynamics of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses

The self-action dynamics of three-dimensional wave packets whose width is on the order of the carrier frequency is studied under fairly general assumptions concerning the dispersion properties of the medium. The condition for the wave field collapse is determined. Self-action regimes in a dispersion-free medium and in media with predominance of anomalous or normal group velocity dispersions are numerically investigated. It is shown that, for extremely short pulses, nonlinearity leads not only to the self-compression of the wave field but also to a “turn-over” of the longitudinal profile. In a dispersionless medium, the formation of a shock front within the pulse leads to the nonlinear dissipation of linearly polarized radiation and to self-focusing stabilization. For circularly polarized radiation, the wave collapse is accompanied by the formation of an envelope shock wave.     

Self-action dynamics of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses

The equation generalizing the nonlinear Schrödinger equation to the case of pulses with a duration of few field oscillation periods is analyzed. A change in the effective parameters (centroid, duration, and width) of the wave field on the pulse propagation path are determined by the moments method. The collapse of spatial structure is shown to occur, and its formation associated with the steepening of the pulse leading edge are numerically studied.     

Spatiotemporal structure of isodiffracting ultrashort electromagnetic pulses

We present a model of isodiffracting single-cycle and few-cycle ultrashort electromagnetic pulses. The model is based on exact solutions of the time-dependent paraxial wave equation with space-time coupling effects included. The spatiotemporal structure of these pulses is characterized by a scaling parameter which relates off-axis pulse shapes to the axial temporal waveforms. Depending on the spectrum a pulse may transform itself from a single-cycle pulse to a multicycle pulse along the radial coordinate. This model is also used to describe recirculating pulses in a curved mirror cavity resonator. The Gouy phase shift contributes an absolute phase that results in a pulse-to-pulse temporal instability.     

Scattering of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses on metal clusters

We have calculated and analyzed the probability of ultrashort electromagnetic pulse (USP) scattering on small metal clusters in the frequency range of plasmon resonances during the field action. The main attention is devoted to dependence of the probability of scattering on the pulse duration for various detunings of the USP carrier frequency from the plasmon resonance frequency. Peculiarities of the USP scattering from plasmon resonances with various figures of merit are revealed.     

Interference effects during the reradiation of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses by polyatomic systems

A theory of the reradiation of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses by arbitrary polyatomic systems of isolated complex atoms has been developed. The technique used allows the spatial inhomogeneity of the field of an ultrashort pulse and photon momenta in reradiation processes to be accurately taken into account. The angular distributions of the reradiation spectra have been obtained for an arbitrary number of atoms in the system. The processes of interference between the photon emission amplitudes are shown to give rise to characteristic “diffraction” maxima. We consider one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional rectangular lattices as examples as well as planar and cylindrical structures as models of planar nanosystems and nanotubes.     

Investigation of analytic wavefunctions of two-electron systems in dynamic interactions with multiply charged ions and electromagnetic field ultrashort pulses

Coherence of various simple analytic wavefunctions of two-electron systems is investigated in with electromagnetic field ultrashort pulses. The coherence of wavefunctions in dynamic processes, for which cross sections (and probabilities) can be expressed only in terms of the ground-state wavefunctions, is determined. Direct recommendations given for using specific analytic wavefunctions can be helpful in simple calculations and estimation of dynamic processes.     

Structural features of the self-action dynamics of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses

Self-focusing dynamics of electromagnetic pulses of arbitrary duration is analyzed numerically and analytically. The wave-field evolution is considered by the wave equation in the reflectionless approximation under quite general assumptions about the dispersion of the medium. Methods for qualitative investigation of the self-focusing dynamics of quasimonochromatic radiation are generalized to the case of wave packets with the length of a few oscillation periods. In particular, sufficient conditions for collapse and many other integral relations are obtained by the momentum method. A self-similar-type transformation is used to show that new structural features are primarily associated with the nonlinear dispersion of the medium (with the dependence of the group velocity of a wave packet on its amplitude). Numerical analysis confirms that the self-focusing of radiation is preceded by an increase in the steepness of the longitudinal profile.     

Polarization of atoms by simultaneous electromagnetic pulses of different frequency ranges

A method is proposed for the fast and deep polarization of a system of ground-state hyperfine sublevels of an atom having an optical excited level or a system of excited-state sublevels. The method is based on the simultaneous action of pulsed bichromatic resonance fields of optical and microwave ranges. The scheme of the ground-state sublevel polarization by bichromatic or monochromatic microwave fields is also considered.     

Single attosecond burst generation during ionization of excited atoms by intense ultrashort laser pulses

We develop an analytical approach to describing the generation of a single attosecond burst during barrier-suppression ionization of a hydrogen atom by an intense laser pulse. We derive analytical expressions that describe the evolution of the electron wave packet in the time interval between the detachment from the atom and the collision with the parent ion for an arbitrary initial atomic state by assuming the atom to be fully ionized in one laser-field half-period. For various s-states, we derive expressions for the profile of the attosecond burst generated when the electron packet collides with the ion and analyze the dependence of its generation efficiency on the principal quantum number n of the initial atomic state. The results obtained are compared with the results of three-dimensional numerical calculations. We show that the attosecond pulse generation efficiency can be several orders of magnitude higher than that in the case of ionization from the ground state when pre-excited atomic states are used.     

Reemission spectra and interference effects upon interaction of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses with nanosystems

The processes of reemission of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses by arbitrary nanosystems consisted of isolated complex atoms have been considered. The angular distributions of reemission spectra have been obtained for a series of regular nanosystems. It has been shown that the interference of the photon-emission amplitudes leads to the appearance of characteristic “diffraction” maxima. One-, two-, and three-dimensional nanostructures, as well as planar and cylindrical constructions as models of planar nanosystems and nanotubes, were used as examples that allow a simple analytical consideration.     

Study of correlation effects during reemission of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses by the helium atom

The calculation of the energy of the ground state of atoms is the criterion for the correctness of compact analytical atomic wave functions. However, such a test is in fact static. We studied the degree of taking into account electron correlations in various simple analytical wave functions in the dynamic process of reemission by the helium atom of ultrashort pulses of an electromagnetic field. Direct guidelines are given on the use of particular analytical wave functions, which can be helpful in simple calculations and estimations of dynamic processes.     

Absorption of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses in plasma with inhomogeneous distribution of density and temperature

The analysis of influence of the inhomogeneous distribution of temperature and density of atoms on the probability of absorption of ultrashort electromagnetic pulses in plasma is carried out. A specific example of divertor plasma of tokamaks and absorption in the Lyman series (at the Ly-α line) is considered. It is shown that the absorption probability may exceed relative populations of excited levels in divertor plasma by several orders of magnitude. The influence of the pulse duration on the probability of excitation of an atomic level is considered. The results suggest a possibility of a sharp increase in a fluorescence signal under the action of an ultrashort pulse.     

Microablation with ultrashort laser pulses

This paper reports the micromachining results of different materials (Al, Si, InP and fused silica) using a Ti : sapphire laser at the wavelength of 800 and 267 nm with variable pulse lengths in the range from 100 fs to 10 ps. The hole arrays with a diameter up to a few μm through microdrilling are presented. We discussed how an effective suppression of the thermal diffusion inside the ablated materials and an effective microablation could be realized. If the laser fluence is taken only slightly above the threshold, a hole array can be drilled with diameters even smaller than the wavelength of the laser. Some examples are presented in the paper.     

Formation of subwavelength periodic structures on tungsten induced by ultrashort laser pulses

The evolution of surface morphology of tungsten irradiated by single-beam femtosecond laser pulses is investigated. Ripplelike periodic structures have been observed. The period of these ripples does not show a simple relation to the wavelength and angle of incidence. The orientation of ripples is aligned perpendicularly to the direction of polarization for linearly polarized light. Surprisingly, we find that the alignment of the ripple structure turned left or right by 45 degrees with respect to the incident plane when using right and left circularly polarized light, respectively. The period of the ripple can be controlled by the pulse energy, the number of pulses, and the incident angle. We find a clear threshold for the formation as a function of pulse energy and number of pulses. The mechanism for the ripple formation is discussed, as well as potential applications in large-area structuring of metals.