High harmonic imaging of few-cycle laser pulses

We show that the strength of the central electric field peaks in a few-cycle laser pulse can be recovered from a frequency-time image of the high harmonic spectrum generated in a gas volume. Pulse intensity, duration, and also the carrier-envelope phase phi(CE) can be determined. A simple and robust observable is defined that provides a gauge of phi(CE) for pulse durations up to three optical cycles, corresponding to 7.8 fs FWHM at the Ti:sapphire wavelength of 800 nm.     

少周期激光脉冲与气体作用产生的离化电流和THz波辐射

本文通过理论和数值模拟,研究少周期激光脉冲电离气体原子产生的离化电流 以及相应的THz波辐射.研究表明,少周期激光脉冲离化气体后能产生较大的离化电流, 因而可以产生较强的THz辐射.不同的少周期激光脉冲相位导致电离出的 电子初始速度和电离起始时刻不同,从而产生的离化电流有所不同, 辐射的THz波随激光脉冲的相位成周期性变化.该理论得到一维PIC数值模拟的验证. 对于给定的激光脉冲相位,离化电流和THz辐射振幅并没有随入射激光振幅的增加而单调增加, 而是存在一些极值点.与均匀分布气体相比,当气体分布具有一定梯度时, 辐射表现相似的规律,但频谱会发生一定的变化.     

Carrier-envelope phase dependence of few-cycle ultrashort laser pulse propagation in a polar molecule medium

We theoretically investigate carrier-envelope phase dependence of few-cycle ultrashort laser pulse propagation in a polar molecule medium. Our results show that a soliton pulse can be generated during the two-photon resonant propagation of few-cycle pulse in the polar molecule medium. Moreover, the main features of the soliton pulse, such as pulse duration and intensity, depend crucially on the carrier-envelope phase of the incident pulse, which could be utilized to determine the carrier-envelope phase of a few-cycle ultrashort laser pulse from a mode-locked oscillator.     

Monolithic carrier-envelope phase-stabilization scheme

A new scheme for stabilizing the carrier-envelope (CE) phase of a few-cycle laser pulse train is demonstrated. Self-phase modulation and difference-frequency generation in a single periodically poled lithium niobate crystal that transmits the main laser beam allows CE phase locking directly in the usable output. The monolithic scheme obviates the need for splitting off a fraction of the laser output for CE phase control, coupling into microstructured fiber, and separation and recombination of spectral components. As a consequence, the output yields 6-fs, 800-nm pulses with an unprecedented degree of short- and long-term reproducibility of the electric field waveform.     

Optical-to-THz wave conversion via excitation of plasma oscillations in the tunneling-ionization process

A new ("linear-parametric") mechanism of a direct conversion of an ultrashort laser pulse into terahertz radiation is suggested. The conversion is due to the ionization-induced excitation and the subsequent electromagnetic emission of the superluminous polarization wave created by the axicon-focused laser pulse. For a few-cycle pulse with an optimum carrier-envelope phase, the considered mechanism is found to be much more effective than the alternative one based on the excitation of plasma oscillations in the laser wakefield by the ponderomotive force and able to provide THz radiation of the gigawatt power level with the use of moderate optical intensity (approximately 10(14)-10(15) W/cm2).     

Measurement of the carrier-envelope phase of few-cycle laser pulses by use of asymmetric photoionization

Using numerical solutions of the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation for a hydrogen and a helium atom in a linearly polarized, few-cycle laser field, we calculate the photoelectron left-right asymmetry measured by two opposing detectors placed along the laser polarization vector, with the laser focus in the center. We find a simple dependence of this asymmetry on carrier-envelope (CE) phase phi for laser intensities slightly below the tunneling regime, which may allow us to measure (or to calibrate) and to stabilize the CE phase. In particular, we suggest that the condition of zero asymmetry for few-cycle pulses may be useful for both these goals.     

Observation of light-phase-sensitive photoemission from a metal

We demonstrate that multiphoton-induced photoelectron emission from a gold surface caused by low-energy (unamplified) 4-fs, 750-nm laser pulses is sensitive to the timing of electric field oscillations with respect to the pulse peak. This observation confirms recent theoretical predictions and opens the door to measuring the absolute value of the carrier-envelope phase difference of few-cycle light pulses with a solid-state detector.     

Carrier-envelope phase-dependent electron tunneling in a coupled double-quantum-dot system driven by a few-cycle laser pulse

We theoretically investigate the dependence of the electron tunneling on the carrier-envelope phase of a few-cycle laser pulse in a coupled double-quantum-dot system, and we show that the electron tunneling between coupled quantum dots is very sensitive to the carrier-envelope phase under a change of the parameters of the system. This in turn provides an additional means to measure the carrier-envelope phase of a laser pulse at lower laser intensity regime in the solid-state nanostructure.     

周期量级激光脉冲作用下原子电离不对称性研究

应用不对称性参量对周期量级强激光脉冲下原子电离分布的反演不对称性进行了定量分析.采用非微扰的散射理论解析方法和三个激光模式模拟超短脉冲,研究不对称性参量随激光强度、包络位相和脉冲宽度的变化.计算表明,这种不对称性是随着波包的绝对位相以正弦形式变化而变化,其最大不对称程度依赖于脉冲强度和脉冲宽度.随着激光强度的提高,不对称性参量是先降低到最小值然后增加.对脉冲宽度相对长、有几个周期量级的高强度激光,其不对称性具有显著的特点.因此,提高脉冲强度有助于对包络绝对位相变化的观察.     

Above-threshold detachment of negative ions by circularly polarized few-cycle laser fields

In accordance with nonperturbative quantum scattering theory,we investigate photoelectron angular distributions(PADs) from above-threshold detachment(ATD) of negative ions irradiated by circularly polarized few-cycle laser fields.Electrons ejected on the polarization plane demonstrate distinct anisotropies in angular distributions which distinctly vary with the carrier-envelope(CE) phase.The anisotropy is caused by interference between transition channels;it also depends strongly on laser frequency,pulse duration,and kinetic energy of photoelectrons.Optimal emission of photoelectrons,which varies with CE phase,makes it possible to control photoelectron motion.     

Carrier-envelope phase effects of over-saturated few-cycle laser pulses on high-order harmonic generation

We investigate theoretically the high-order harmonic generation driven by few-cycle laser pulses with intensities above the saturated intensity using the Lewenstein model. It is found that the carrier-envelope phase of the laser pulse has great influences on the coherence of the high-order harmonic spectrum in the plateau region when driven by a relatively weaker driver field in the oversaturated regime. While for a much higher intensity the coherence of the high-order harmonic spectrum is almost independent on the carrier-envelope phase.     

Broadband Terahertz Wave Generation from Monolayer Graphene Driven by Few-Cycle Laser Pulse

We theoretically investigate the characteristics of terahertz(THz) radiation from monolayer graphene exposed to normal incident few-cycle laser pulses, by numerically solving the extended semiconductor Bloch equations. Our simulations show that the THz spectra in low frequency regions are highly dependent on the carrier envelope phase(CEP) of driving laser pulses. Using an optimal CEP of few-cycle laser pulses, we can obtain broadband strong THz waves, due to the symmetry breaking of the laser-graphene system. Our results also show that the strength of the THz spectra depend on both the intensity and central wavelength of the laser pulses. The intensity dependence of the THz wave can be described by the excitation rate of graphene, while wavelength dependence can be traced back to the band velocity and the population of graphene. We find that a near single-cycle THz pulse can be obtained from graphene driven by a mid-infrared laser pulse.     

Carrier-envelope phase measurement using plasmonic-field-enhanced high-order harmonic generation of H atom in few-cycle laser pulses

We investigate the plasmonic-field-enhanced high-order harmonic generation (HHG) of H atom driven by few-cycle laser pulses, by solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE). Compared with the homogeneous field, HHG spectra generated by inhomogeneous field exhibit two-plateau structure. We analyze the origin of the two plateaus by using the semiclassical trajectory method. Our results from both classical and TDSE simulations show that the cutoffs of the two plateaus are dramatically affected by the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of laser pulse in the inhomogeneous field, even for a little longer pulse. Thus, we can determine the CEP of driving laser based on the cutoff position of HHG generated in the inhomogeneous field.     

Generation of attosecond pulses in molecular nitrogen

We investigate the carrier-envelope phase dependence of the total ionization yield for single and double ionization of xenon. We compare our results to theoretical calculations and to the phase dependent asymmetry in photoelectron emission. We observe that the phase dependence of the photoion yields, regardless if single or double ionization, is at least 2-3 orders of magnitude below the photoelectron emission signal. We conclude that total photoionization yields are only very weakly dependent on the carrier envelope phase, and that they are not a useful means for measurement of the phase. It seems possible that the broad bandwidth of few-cycle pulses facilitates multiphoton ionization, which leads to a randomization of strong field ionization phase dependencies. Besides, we observe that the spatial asymmetry in photoelectron emission appears to be useful as an indicator for the laser pulse duration in the few cycle regime.     

Effects of the carrier-envelope phase in the multiphoton ionization regime

We theoretically investigate the effects of the carrier-envelope phase of few-cycle laser pulses in the multiphoton ionization regime. For atoms with low ionization potential, total ionization yield barely exhibits phase dependence, as expected. However, population of some bound states clearly shows phase dependence. This implies that the measurement of the carrier-envelope phase would be possible through the photoemission between bound states without energy-and-angle-resolved photoelectron detection. The considered scheme could be particularly useful to measure the carrier-envelope phase for a light source without an amplifier, such as a laser oscillator, which cannot provide sufficient pulse energy to induce tunneling ionization.     

Laser-Duration Dependence of Emission Properties of High-Order Harmonic Generation

Quantitative investigations are made for the laser-duration dependence of the emission properties of high-order harmonic generation （HHG）. HHG emission properties produced by few-cycle lasers show some useful characteristics. The cutoff energy is less than that by laser for infinite duration. The single energy distribution pulse decreases much faster than its duration as the laser duration grows. A two-cycle laser with carrier-envelope phase of 0° can produce a single distribution pulse peaked at the laser carrier phase 1.22 rad and spanned 1.18 rad with the cutoff energy 2.9Up ＋ Ip and a bandwidth 0.63Up, where Up is the ponderomotive potential of the laser field and Ip is the atomic ionization potential.     

周期量级激光脉冲驱动下非次序双电离的三维经典系综模拟

利用三维经典系综模型研究了周期量级激光脉冲驱动的氩原子非次序双电离,所得结果表明,Ar2+离子的纵向动量分布与载波包络相位有很强的依赖关系,随载波包络相位φ的增加,具有不对称双峰结构的离子纵向动量分布重心从负动量转移到正动量,并且φ每改变π时Ar2+离子的纵向动量呈现相反的分布.在重碰撞过程中核与电子之间的库仑势发生变化后,计算得到的Ar2+离子纵向动量分布随载波包络相位的变化与实验结果定量上一致.     

Influence of the carrier-envelope phase of few-cycle pulses on ponderomotive surface-plasmon electron acceleration

Control over basic processes through the electric field of a light wave can lead to new knowledge of fundamental light-matter interaction phenomena. We demonstrate, for the first time, that surface-plasmon (SP) electron acceleration can be coherently controlled through the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of an excitation optical pulse. Analysis indicates that the physical origin of the CEP sensitivity arises from the electron's ponderomotive interaction with the oscillating electromagnetic field of the SP wave. The ponderomotive electron acceleration mechanism provides sensitive (nJ energies), high-contrast, single-shot CEP measurement capability of few-cycle laser pulses.     

Phase dependence of enhanced ionization in asymmetric molecules

We study enhanced ionization (EI) in asymmetric molecules by solving the 3D time-dependent Schr?dinger equation for HeH2+ driven by a few-cycle laser pulse linearly polarized along the molecular axis. We find that EI is much stronger when the laser's carrier-envelope phase is such that the electric field at the peak of the pulse is antiparallel to the permanent dipole of the molecule (PDM). This phase dependence is explained by studying the molecule in the presence of a static electric field. When this field is antiparallel to the PDM, the energy of the dressed ground state moves up (with increasing internuclear distance R) to cross with excited states, leading to a stronger ionization via intermediate state resonances and via tunneling. We predict analytically the laser and molecular parameters at which these crossings are expected to occur in any asymmetric molecule.     

Gouy phase shift for few-cycle laser pulses

We measured for the first time the influence of the Gouy effect on focused few-cycle laser pulses. The carrier-envelope phase is shown to undergo a smooth variation over a few Rayleigh distances. This result is of critical importance for any application of ultrashort laser pulses, including high-harmonic and attosecond pulse generation, as well as phase-dependent effects.