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.     

How accurate is the attosecond streak camera?

An attosecond streak camera holds the promise of time resolving the dynamics of photoionization with a few-attosecond accuracy. But can the attosecond measurement be disentangled from the process it measures? We address this question by deriving simple closed-form analytical expressions for the measurement-related apparent time delays in photoionization, associated with the application of the attosecond streak camera and/or resolution of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions techniques. Our analytical results are accurate on about the 1 asec level and show that both intrinsic and measurement-induced delays depend on the same scattering phase and are, therefore, not independent. We also suggest a procedure for extracting intrinsic time delays from the measurement and a possible resolution of the controversy caused by the experiments of Schultze et al. [Science 328, 1658 (2010)].     

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.     

Manifestation of attosecond XUV fields temporal structures in attosecond streaking spectrogram

The features of an attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) field are encoded in the attosecond XUV spectrogram. We investigate the effect of the temporal structures of attosecond XUV fields on the attosecond streaking spectrogram. Factors such as the number of attosecond XUV pulses and the temporal chirp of attosecond XUV pulses are considered. Results indicate that unlike the attosecond streaking spectrogram for an attosecond XUV field with two pulses of a half-cycle separation of streaking field, the spectrogram for the attosecond XUV field with three pulses demonstrates fine spectral fringes in separated traces.     

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.”     

啁啾激光与半周期脉冲形成的组合场驱动原子产生单个阿秒脉冲

提出了由波长为800 nm、脉冲宽度为5 fs的啁啾激光与半周期脉冲形成组合场,并利用这种组合场驱动一维模型氦原子获得单个阿秒脉冲. 通过数值求解一维氦原子的含时薛定谔方程,发现氦原子在组合场驱动下高次谐波谱的截止位置可以扩展到I_p+21.6U_p. 对第二平台区域不同范围内高次谐波的叠加都能得到单个阿秒脉冲,最短可达37 as,特别是对平台区域的前端进行叠加不仅能够得到较短的单个阿秒脉冲,而且与截止位置附近高次谐波构造的阿秒脉冲相比,强度提高了3个数量级. 关键词： 啁啾激光场 半周期脉冲 高次谐波 阿秒脉冲     

Optical detection of attosecond ionization induced by a few-cycle laser field in a transparent dielectric material

We observe an optical signature induced by the modulation of electron density inside a bulk transparent solid that is quasiperiodically ionized on an attosecond time scale by electric field peaks of a focused few-cycle laser pulse. The emitted optical signal resulting from the attosecond ionization dynamics is spatially, temporally and spectrally isolated from concomitant optical responses through the use of a noncollinear pump-probe technique. The method holds promise for developing an attosecond metrology for bulk solids, in which, unlike in the established attosecond metrology of gases and surfaces, direct detection of charged particles is unfeasible.     

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.     

Compression of harmonic pulses by using material dispersion

We utilize the dispersion property of an X-ray filter material for the generation of a single sub-50-as pulse from high-order harmonics. The attosecond pulse, formed by selecting the spectral range of high-order harmonic radiation, contains an intrinsic chirp corresponding to the quadratic phase variation during a half cycle of a laser pulse. We show that this chirp can be compensated by using the negative group-delay dispersion of a thin X-ray filter, compressing the attosecond pulse down to sub-50-as. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.50.Hz; 42.65.Ky     

Characterization of high-order harmonic radiation on femtosecond and attosecond time scales

We characterize the temporal structure of high-order harmonic radiation on both the femtosecond and attosecond time scales. The harmonic emission is characterized by mixed-color two-photon ionization with an infrared femtosecond laser using a Mach–Zehnder interferometer where both pump and probe arms travel completely separate paths. In a first experiment, we measure the duration and chirp of individual harmonics. In a second experiment, we resolve, for the first time with this type of setup, the attosecond beating of several harmonics generated under conditions similar to the first experiment. We suggest that the results of both measurements can be combined to determine the full attosecond time structure of the harmonic emission. PACS 32.80.Rm; 42.65.Ky     

圆偏振激光附加太赫兹场作用下的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒脉冲的产生

本文通过数值求解二维含时薛定谔方程,研究了圆偏振激光和太赫兹组合场作用下,H+2的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒(1 as=10-18s)脉冲的产生.研究发现,无论在圆偏振激光场的x或y方向附加一个太赫兹场,都可以产生一个比较平滑的连续谐波谱.通过时频分析我们发现,高次谐波的贡献主要来自于短轨道.适当选取一些级次的连续谐波进行叠加,可以得到129 as或83 as的孤立阿秒脉冲.     

圆偏振激光附加太赫兹场作用下的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒脉冲的产生

本文通过数值求解二维含时薛定谔方程,研究了圆偏振激光和太赫兹组合场作用下,H2+的高次谐波发射和孤立阿秒脉冲的产生。研究发现,无论在圆偏振激光场的 或 方向附加一个太赫兹场,都可以产生一个比较平滑的连续谐波谱。通过时频分析我们发现,高次谐波的贡献主要来自于短轨道。适当选取一些级次的连续谐波进行叠加,可以得到129 as或83 as的孤立阿秒脉冲。     

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.     

Streaking at high energies with electrons and positrons

A detection scheme for characterizing high-energy γ-ray pulses down to the zeptosecond timescale is proposed. In contrast to existing attosecond metrology techniques, our method is not limited by atomic shell physics and therefore capable of breaking the MeV photon energy and attosecond time-scale barriers. It is inspired by attosecond streak imaging, but builds upon the high-energy process of electron-positron pair production in vacuum through the collision of a test pulse with an intense laser pulse. We discuss necessary conditions to render the scheme feasible in the upcoming Extreme Light Infrastructure laser facility.     

Generation of intense,carrier-envelope phase-locked few-cycle laser pulses through filamentation

Intense, well-controlled light pulses with only a few optical cycles start to play a crucial role in many fields of physics, such as attosecond science. We present an extremely simple and robust technique to generate such carrier-envelope offset (CEO) phase locked few-cycle pulses, relying on self-guiding of intense 43-fs, 0.84 mJ optical pulses during propagation in a transparent noble gas. We have demonstrated 5.7-fs, 0.38 mJ pulses with an excellent spatial beam profile and discuss the potential for much shorter pulses. Numerical simulations confirm that filamentation is the mechanism responsible for pulse shortening. The method is widely applicable and much less sensitive to experimental conditions such as beam alignment, input pulse duration or gas pressure as compared to gas-filled hollow fibers. PACS 45.65.Ky; 42.65.Re     

Analytical solution of the Schrödinger equation in the sudden perturbation approximation for an atom by attosecond and shorter electromagnetic pulses

An exact solution of the Schrödinger equation has been obtained in the sudden perturbation approximation for the case of the interaction of attosecond and shorter electromagnetic pulses with multielectron atoms. This solution makes it possible to exactly take into account the spatial inhomogeneity of the field of an ultrashort pulse. The result has been presented in an analytical form.     

Efficient generation of isolated attosecond pulses with high beam quality by two-color Bessel-Gauss beams

The generation of isolated attosecond pulses with high efficiency and high beam quality is essential for attosecond spectroscopy. We numerically investigate the supercontinuum generation in a neutral rare-gas medium driven by a two-color Bessel-Gauss beam. The results show that an efficient smooth supercontinuum in the plateau is obtained after propagation and the spatial profile of the generated attosecond pulse is Gaussian-like with the divergence angle of 0.1° in the far-field. This bright source with high beam quality is beneficial for detecting and controlling the microscopic processes on attosecond time scale.     

The accurate FROG characterization of attosecond pulses from streaking measurements

We describe a new attosecond FROG algorithm optimized for the characterization of sub-100 as pulses from streaked electron spectra. We make improvements upon the treatment of the attosecond streaking spectrogram, and show that these are necessary in order to accurately characterize shorter pulses with ever larger bandwidths. We investigate the effects of the approximations that must be made in order to apply the generalized projections scheme. PACS  31.15.xg; 32.90.+a; 33.60.+q     

Four-wave mixing with non-resonant pump and resonant probe for OH detection in flames

We report a new long-term interferometric stabilization scheme for a delay line to be used for pump–probe spectroscopy on the attosecond time scale. A separate interferometer with a He–Ne laser beam is used to stabilize the delay line with respect to a slow drift in the optical delay induced mainly by ambient temperature changes in the laboratory. The power of the stabilization scheme is demonstrated with the characterization of an attosecond pulse train in the extreme ultraviolet formed through high order harmonic generation of Ti:sapphire laser radiation. We use the RABBITT technique for the attosecond pulse-train characterization in a reaction microscope employed here for photoelectron–photoion-coincidence spectroscopy. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Re; 07.60.Ly; 07.81.+a; 32.80.Fb     

双色激光脉冲辐照下38 as孤立短脉冲的产生

通过数值求解一维含时薛定谔方程, 本文研究了具有特定波长的双色激光脉冲与氦原子相互作用产生的高次谐波和阿秒脉冲, 这里双色激光脉冲由5 fs较低强度基频钛宝石主脉冲与另一束较高强度的1330 nm 红外附加脉冲构成. 研究发现, 若两束脉冲之间的相对相位选择合适, 可以获得宽带连续辐射的高次谐波谱, 叠加该连续辐射谱可获得脉宽为38 as的孤立短脉冲. 进一步研究发现, 不同于以往孤立阿秒脉冲研究中选出长、短量子路径之一作为辐射源, 这里单阿秒脉冲来源于长、短两个量子路径的贡献, 只是这两个量子路径在很宽的谐波次数变化范围内辐射时刻比较集中. 关键词： 双色激光脉冲 阿秒脉冲 量子路径