Manipulation role of the relative phase and incoherent pumping on a light pulse propagation

In an open A type system with the spontaneously generated coherence (SGC), when the probe and driving fields have different frequencies, the switching of the group velocity of the probe pulse from subluminal to superluminal is realized not only by adjusting values of the relative phase between the probe and driving fields but also by varying values of the incoherent pumping rate. For the subluminal propagation, the system always exhibits the probe absorption, however, the superluminal propagation is always companied with gain of the probe field.     

Effect of the “inversion” of a scattering medium in layers of close-packed titanium dioxide nanoparticles

The features of the behavior of the diffuse transmission of layers of close-packed titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the visible and near infrared spectral ranges with an increase in the volume fraction f of the particles in a layer have been analyzed. It has been found that an increase in f for layers of small particles (about 25 nm) with a relatively low volume fraction (0.20–0.25) is accompanied by the expected decrease in diffuse transmission. At the same time, an increase in f for layers of large particles (about 100 nm) with a volume fraction of 0.45–0.50 results in a strong increase in transmission. The described phenomenon has been interpreted in terms of the concepts of inverse scattering systems, where the main scattering centers are air nanocavities in a TiO₂ matrix rather than TiO₂ particles in an air matrix.     

Manipulating light flow with one-dimensional photonic crystals of an electromagnetically induced transparency medium

The band structures and equifrequency contours of one-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs), which consist of an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) medium and a common dielectric medium, can be dramatically changed by tuning the coupling field intensity (or coupling Rabi frequency, CRF) of the EIT medium. It is found that for a probe light at a fixed frequency, either positive or negative refraction in the EIT PC can be realized with a proper CRF. The behavior of a Gaussian beam (probe light) obliquely incident on such an EIT PC slab is simulated numerically. The probe light beam transmitted from the slab can be shifted transversely in a large range, and negative refraction enhances this effect. The present scenario can be applied in some areas such as quantum optical and photonic device designs.     

Propagation of a light pulse inside matter in a context of the Abraham–Minkowski dilemma

It is shown that a light pulse propagating in an optical medium exerts the optical pressure on the medium in the regions where leading and trailing edges are propagating. This effect is derived from analysis of unambiguous thought experiments which results contradict one other. It is shown that a magnitude of the pressure is equal to (n − 1/n)W₀, where n and W₀ is the refractive index of the medium and the momentum flux density of the same pulse in free space, respectively. The Abraham form of the momentum of light is redundant if the optical pressure is taken into account. In this case the dilemma disappears because one of the rival alternatives disappears.     

Time evolution of atomic inversion in a standing wave light field

The interaction between an atomic beam of two-level atoms and a standing wave light field has been studied by the exact solution of a time-dependent quantum system developed recently. When the initial atomic state is choosen to be ground, we find that with the limit of zero detuning the atoms will oscillate between the upper and the lower levels with a decaying amplitude. The most interesting result obtained in this paper is when the initial atomic state is a particular superposition of the two levels, now the system does not oscillate at any time.     

Sideband manipulation of population inversion in a three-level Λ atomic system

Sideband manipulation of population inversion in a three-level A atomic configuration is investigated theoretically. Compared with the case of a nearly monochromatic field, a population inversion between an excited state and a ground state has been found in a wide sideband intensity range by increasing the difference in frequency between three components. Furthermore, the population inversion can be controlled by the sum of the relative phases of the sideband components of the trichromatic pump field with respective to the phase of the central component. Changing the sum phase from 0 to π, the population inversion between the excited state and the ground state can increase within nearly half of the sideband intensity range. At the same time, the sideband intensity range that corresponds to the system exhibiting inversion ρ00 〉 ρ11 also becomes wider evidently.     

The propagation dynamics of ultraviolet light filament with Rayleigh scattering in air

In this paper we present for the first time the effects of Rayleigh scattering on the long distance propagation of ultraviolet （UV） light filament in air based on the stationary analysis. The simulation results show that the effects of Rayleigh scattering on the propagation of UV laser filaments may not be ignored. These influences are slightly dependent on the laser wavelength. We also compare the UV filament propagations at different input powers in the presence and the absence of the Rayleigh scattering and discuss the mechanisms of power loss and beam defocusing. In the absence of Rayleigh scattering, the filament propagation is determined by the oscillating behaviour of the beam size. In the presence of the scattering, the propagation lengths of filament are close to each other at different initial powers and determined by the Rayleigh scattering.     

What causes the superluminal propagation of light pulses

In this paper, we discuss what causes the superluminal propagation of a pulse through dispersion bysolving Maxwell's equations without any approximation. The coherence of the pulse plays an importantrole for superluminal propagation. When the pulse becomes partially coherent,the propagation changesfrom superluminal to subluminal. The energy velocity is always less than the vacuum velocity.The shapeof the pulse is changed during the propagation.     

Optical properties of aluminum dodecaboride (α-AlB12) in the region of the transparency window

The absorption coefficient of α-AlB₁₂ was measured on single crystal samples at T=300 K within a broad spectral region (0.6–25 μm). In the region of the transparency window (3–6 μm), the absorption coefficient was measured in the temperature range from 165 to 650 K. An analysis of the experimental data shows that the energy spectrum of local states in the α-AlB₁₂ bandgap has certain features. It was established that a broad band of local states lies near the conduction band and that a trap level is located at 0.11±0.02 eV from the top of the valence band. __________ Translated from Fizika Tverdogo Tela, Vol. 43, No. 9, 2001, pp. 1573–1574. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2001 by Zaitsev, Fedorov, Golikova, Orlov. Deceased.     

Effects of Lorentz local field correction on propagation properties of few-cycle pulse in dense Λ-type atomic medium

By solving numerically the full Maxwell-Bloch equations without the slowly varying envelope approximation and the rotating-wave approximation, we investigate the effects of Lorentz local field correction (LFC) on the propagation properties of few-cycle laser pulse in a dense Λ-type three-level atomic medium. We find that: when the area of the input pulse is larger, split of pulse occurs and the number of the sub-pulses with LFC is larger than that without LFC; at the same distance, the time interval between the first sub-pulse and the second sub-pulse in the case without LFC is longer than that with LFC, the time of pulse appearing in the case without LFC is later than that in the case with LFC, and the two phenomena are more obvious with propagation distance increasing; time evolution rules of the populations of levels |1>, |2> and |3> in the two cases with and without LFC are much different. When the area of the input pulse is smaller, effects of LFC on time evolutions of the pulse and populations are remarkably smaller than those in the case of larger area pulse.     

Nonlinear propagation of an intense Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulse in a plasma channel

The nonlinear propagation of an intense Laguerre–Gaussian(LG) laser pulse in a parabolic preformed plasma channel is analyzed by means of the variational method. The evolution equation of the spot size is derived including the effects of relativistic self-focusing, preformed channel focusing, and ponderomotive self-channeling. The parametric conditions of the LG laser pulse and plasma channel for propagating with constant spot size, periodically focusing and defocusing oscillation,catastrophic focusing, and solitary waves are obtained. Compared with the laser pulse with fundamental Gaussian(FG)mode, it is found that the effect of vacuum diffraction is reduced by half and the effects of relativistic and wakefield focusing are decreased by a quarter due to the hollow transverse intensity profile of the LG laser pulse, while the effect of channel focusing is the same order of magnitude with that of the FG laser pulse. Thus, the matched condition for the intense LG laser pulse with constant spot size is released obviously, while the parameters of the laser and plasma for the existence of solitary waves nearly coincide with those of the FG laser pulse.     

Generation of breathing solitons in the propagation and interactions of Airy–Gaussian beams in a cubic–quintic nonlinear medium

Using the split-step Fourier transform method, we numerically investigate the generation of breathing solitons in the propagation and interactions of Airy–Gaussian(AiG) beams in a cubic–quintic nonlinear medium in one transverse dimension. We show that the propagation of single AiG beams can generate stable breathing solitons that do not accelerate within a certain initial power range. The propagation direction of these breathing solitons can be controlled by introducing a launch angle to the incident AiG beams. When two AiG beams accelerated in opposite directions interact with each other,different breathing solitons and soliton pairs are observed by adjusting the phase shift, the beam interval, the amplitudes,and the light field distribution of the initial AiG beams.     

On the error of the time–pulse method of measuring air consumption in mines

The derivation of a formula for the time during which a sound signal propagates between two given points A and B in a stationary gas flow is considered. It is shown that the gas flow changes the signal reception time by a quantity proportional to the consumption, regardless of the detailed velocity profile. The difference between the reception time of signals from point B to the point A and vice versa is proportional to air consumption with high accuracy. It is shown that the relative error of the obtained formula does not exceed the squared maximum Mach number in the gas flow. This allows measurement of the consumption of gas moving in a mine with an arbitrary stationary subsonic velocity field.     

Influence of atomic densities on propagation property for ultrashort pulses in a two-level medium

The influence of atomic densities on the propagation property for ultrashort pulses in a two-level atom (TLA) medium is investigated. With higher atomic densities, the self-induced transparency (SIT) cannot be recovered even for 2πultrashort pulses. New features such as pulse splitting, red-shift and blue-shift of the corresponding spectra arise, and the component of central frequency gradually disappears.     

Effect of the ratio of transition dipole moments on few-cycle pulse propagation

Propagation of a few-cycle laser pulses in a dense V-type three-level atomic medium is investigated based on full-wave Maxwell-Bloch equations by taking the near dipole-dipole (NDD) interaction into account. We find that the ratio,γ,of the transition dipole moments has strong influence on the time evolution and split of the pulse:whenγ≤1,the NDD interaction delays propagation and split of the pulse,and this phenomenon is more obvious when the value ofγis smaller;whenγ=2~(1/2),the NDD interaction accelerates propagation and split of the pulse.     

Using Lorentz’s theorem for studying the propagation wave packets in a nonlinear medium

We obtain integral relationships expressing the amplitude of wave-packet field on the output surface of a layer via the field amplitude on the input surface, the field on the side surface of the layer, and the integral of the nonlinear currents inside the layer at the previous times in the spectral and spatiotemporal forms. These relationships allow one to perform studies and develop numerical simulation algorithms of propagation and interaction of wave packets which have wide frequency and angular spectra, including calculations of excitation of evanescent waves in the case of sharp focusing or formation of supernarrow filaments. Using the obtained relationships, we propose an algorithm that employs a simple iteration of the first order and allows one to significantly speed up the calculations. The possibility of using the fast Fourier transform to develop algorithms for numerical simulation of the boundary-value problems of nonlinear optics is demonstrated.     

Revivals of Zitterbewegung in the Bernevig Hughes Zhang model in the quantum spin Hall regime with a laser pulse

We theoretically investigate the Zitterbewegung （ZB） behavior of electrons in the Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang model with a short laser pulse. To obtain a steady picture, we fix the electron on the Landau levels with a magnetic field. The ZB motion and the electromagnetic radiations in the quantum spin Hall regime are given. We find that over a shorter time, the electromagnetic radiations show a quasi-classical cyclotron oscillation, while over a longer time, they exhibit a clear revival picture. The resulting revival time and excited electric field are large enough to make experimental detection accessible.     

Enhancement of coherent population transfer in a double Λ-type four-level system via a train of pulse pairs

We propose a flexible way to significantly enhance population transfer efficiency with a train of time-separated pump-Stokes pulse pairs when the non-adiabatic coupling between two degenerate adiabatic states exists in a double Λ-type four-level system, where the pump and Stokes pulses in each pair can be applied in either counterintuitive or intuitive order. It is shown that the needed Rabi frequency for achieving complete population transfer can be reduced dramatically with the increase of number of pump-Stokes pulse pairs, which results from temporal constructive quantum interference between the sequential transitions and subsequent coherent accumulation; moreover, an arbitrary coherent superposition between the two lower states can be realized by suitably tuning the Rabi frequency and the time delay between each pump-Stokes pair. The method may find applications in control of chemical reactions, quantum optics, and quantum information processing.     

On a class of stable “spherical” configurations in the Kerr field

It is well known that among the plane (=const) circular (r=const) stable motions of a test particle in the Schwarzschild field there is one which has a smallest value of the radius. A similar (lower) bound for equatorial circular orbits exists in the kerr field (for =/2, a=r_g/2–, 0 < < r_g) [2, 3]. In the present paper, a study is made of the possibility of obtaining similar results in the case of spherical motion (r = const, const) in the Kerr field with no a priori bound on the value of the parametera.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 8, pp. 3–6, August, 1980.     

First-order Fréedericksz transition and front propagation in a liquid crystal light valve with feedback

Fréedericksz transition can become subcritical in the presence of a feedback mechanism that leads to the dependence of the local electric field onto the liquid crystal re-orientation angle. We have characterized experimentally the first-order Fréedericksz transition in a Liquid Crystal Light Valve with optical feedback. The bistability region is determined, together with the Fréedericksz transition point and the Maxwell point. We show the propagation of fronts connecting the different metastable states and we estimate the front velocity. Theoretically, we derive an amplitude equation, valid close to the Fréedericksz transition point, which accounts for the subcritical character of the bifurcation.Received: 21 October 2003, Published online: 6 January 2004PACS: 05.45.-a Nonlinear dynamics and nonlinear dynamical systems - 64.60.-i General studies of phase transitions