Laser shaping and optical power limiting of pulsed Laguerre–Gaussian laser beams of high-order radial modes in fullerene C60

We study the strong nonlinear optical dynamics of nanosecond pulsed Laguerre–Gaussian laser beams of high-order radial modes with zero orbital angular momentum propagating in the fullerene C60molecular medium. It is found that the spatiotemporal profile of the incident pulsed Laguerre–Gaussian laser beam is strongly reshaped during its propagation in the C60molecular medium. The centrosymmetric temporal profile of the incident pulse gradually evolves into a noncentrosymmetric meniscus shape, and the on-axis pulse duration is clearly depressed. Furthermore, the field intensity is distinctly attenuated due to the field-intensity-dependent reverse saturable absorption, and clear optical power limiting behavior is observed for different orders of the input pulsed Laguerre–Gaussian laser beams before the takeover of the saturation effect;the lower the order of the Laguerre–Gaussian beam, the lower the energy transmittance.

Efficient ion acceleration driven by a Laguerre–Gaussian laser in near-critical-density plasma

Laser-driven ion accelerators have the advantages of compact size,high density,and short bunch duration over conventional accelerators.Nevertheless,it is still challenging to generate ion beams with quasi-monoenergetic peak and low divergence in experiments with the current ultrahigh intensity laser and thin target technologies.Here we propose a scheme that a Laguerre–Gaussian laser irradiates a near-critical-density(NCD)plasma to generate a quasi-monoenergetic and low-divergence proton beam.The Laguerre–Gaussian laser pulse in an NCD plasma excites a moving longitudinal electrostatic field with a large amplitude,and it maintains the inward bowl-shape for dozens of laser durations.This special distribution of the longitudinal electrostatic field can simultaneously accelerate and converge the protons.Our particle-in-cell(PIC)simulation shows that the efficient proton acceleration can be realized with the Laguerre–Gaussian laser intensity ranging from 3.9×10^(21)W·cm^(-2)–1.6×10^(22)W·cm^(-2)available in the near future,e.g.,a quasi-monoenergetic proton beam with peak energy~115 MeV and divergence angles less than 5°can be generated by a 5.3×10^(21)W·cm^(-2)pulse.This work could provide a reference for the high-quality ion beam generation with PWclass laser systems available recently.

Tailoring OAM spectrum of high-order harmonic generation driven by two mixed Laguerre–Gaussian beams with nonzero radial nodes

The extreme ultraviolet(XUV)light beam carrying orbital angular momentum(OAM)can be produced via high-order harmonic generation(HHG)due to the interaction of an intense vortex infrared laser and a gas medium.Here we show that the OAM spectrum of vortex HHG can be readily tailored by varying the radial node(from 0 to 2)in the driving laser consisting of two mixed Laguerre-Gaussian(LG)beams.We find that due to the change in spatial profile of HHG,the distribution range of the OAM spectrum can be broadened and its shape can be modified by increasing the radial node.We also show that the OAM mode range becomes much wider and its distribution shape becomes more symmetric when the harmonic order is increased from the plateau to the cutoff when the driving laser has the nonzero radial nodes.Through the map of coherence length and the evolution of harmonic field in the medium,we reveal that the favorable off-axis phase-matching conditions are greatly modified due to the change of intensity and phase distributions of driving laser with the radial node.We anticipate this work to stimulate some interests in generating the XUV vortex beam with tunable OAM spectrum through the gaseous HHG process achieved by manipulating the mode properties of the driving laser beam.

Calibration of quantitative rescattering model for simulating vortex high-order harmonic generation driven by Laguerre–Gaussian beam with nonzero orbital angular momentum

We calibrate the macroscopic vortex high-order harmonic generation(HHG)obtained by the quantitative rescattering(QRS)model to compute single-atom induced dipoles against that by solving the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation(TDSE).We show that the QRS perfectly agrees with the TDSE under the favorable phase-matching condition,and the QRS can accurately predict the main features in the spatial profiles of vortex HHG if the phase-matching condition is not good.We uncover that harmonic emissions from short and long trajectories are adjusted by the phase-matching condition through the time-frequency analysis and the QRS can simulate the vortex HHG accurately only when the interference between two trajectories is absent.This work confirms that it is an efficient way to employ the QRS model in the single-atom response for precisely simulating the macroscopic vortex HHG.

Direct acceleration of electrons using two crossed Laguerre-Gaussian laser beams in vacuum

The basic physical characteristics of electrons accelerated by two linearly polarized and circularly symmetric crossed Laguerre-Gaussian （LG） laser beams with equal frequency and amplitude in vacuum are studied in detail. The condition, under which electrons can be accelerated effectively, and the energy gain are discussed.

Acceleration and radiation of externally injected electrons in laser plasma wakefield driven by a Laguerre-Gaussian pulse

By using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, externally injected electron beam acceleration and radiation in donut-like wake fields driven by a Laguerre-Gaussian pulse are investigated. Studies show that in the acceleration process the total charge and azimuthal momenta of electrons can be stably maintained at a distance of a few hundreds of micrometers. Electrons experience low-frequency spiral rotation and high-frequency betatron oscillation, which leads to a synchrotron-like radiation. The radiation spectrum is mainly determined by the betatron motion of electrons. The far field distribution of radiation intensity shows axial symmetry due to the uniform transverse injection and spiral rotation of electrons. Our studies suggest a new way to simultaneously generate hollow electron beam and radiation source from a compact laser plasma accelerator.

Reflection and transmission of Laguerre Gaussian beam from uniaxial anisotropic multilayered media

Based on angular spectrum expansion and 4 × 4 matrix theory, the reflection and transmission characteristics of a Laguerre Gaussian （LG） beam from uniaxial anisotropic multilayered media are studied. The reflected and transmitted beam fields of an LG beam are derived. In the case where the principal coordinates of the uniaxial anisotropic media coincide with the global coordinates, the reflected and transmitted beam intensities from a uniaxial anisotropic slab and three-layered media are numerically simulated. It is shown that the reflected intensity components of the incident beam, especially the TM polarized incident beam, are smaller than the transmitted intensity components. The distortion of the reflected intensity component is more evident than that of the transmitted intensity component. The distortion of intensity distribution is greatly affected by the dielectric tensor and the thickness of anisotropic media. We finally extend the application of the method to general anisotropic multilayered media.

Composite optical vortices in noncollinear Laguerre–Gaussian beams and their propagation in free space

Taking two Laguerre-Gaussian beams with topological charge 1 = ±1 as an example, this paper studies the composite optical vortices formed by two noncollinear Laguerre-Gaussian beams with different phases, amplitudes, waist widths, off-axis distances, and their propagation in free space. It is shown by detailed numerical illustrative examples that the number and location of composite vortices at the waist plane are variable by varying the relative phase β, amplitude ratio η, waist width ratio ξ, or off-axis distance ratio μ. The net topological charge lnet is not always equal to the sum lsum of charges of the two component beams. The motion, creation and annihilation of composite vortices take place in the free-space propagation, and the net charge during the propagation remains unchanged and equals to the net charge at the waist plane.

Study on holographic grating diffraction for Laguerre–Gaussian beam generation

Laguerre-Gaussian beams, as a special model with spiral phase structure, have been intensively investigated. Holographic grating method is a convenient method of generating Laguerre-Gaussian beams and measuring their orbital angular momenta. But due to some inevitable adverse factors such as lateral displacement, angular deflection and elliptical incident profile of incident beam, the practical effectiveness should be reevaluated. This paper is devoted to the study on the influences of the abovementioned three adverse factors on the holographic grating method. The characteristics of the mode decomposition of diffractive order and the relative powers of the orbital angular momentum eigen-states are also given.

Vectorial Hermite-Laguerre-Gaussian beams beyond the paraxial approximation

Starting from the vectorial Rayleigh-Sommerfeld integrals, the free-space propagation expressions for vectorial Hermit-Lagucrre-Gaussian （HLG） beams beyond the paraxial approximation are derived. The far-field expressions and the scalar paraxial results are given as special cases of our general expressions. The intensity distributions of vectorial nonparaxial HLG beams are studied and illustrated with numerical examples.

Selective excitation of multipolar surface plasmon in a graphene-coated dielectric particle by Laguerre Gaussian beam

Localized surface plasmonic resonance has attracted extensive attention since it allows for great enhancement of local field intensity on the nanoparticle surface.In this paper,we make a systematic study on the excitation of localized surface plasmons of a graphene coated dielectric particle.Theoretical results show that both the intensity and frequency of the plasmonic resonant peak can be tuned effectively through modifying the graphene layer.Furthermore,high order localized surface plasmons could be excited and tuned selectively by the Laguerre Gaussian beam,which is induced by the optical angular orbital momentum transfer through the mutual interaction between the particle and the helical wavefront.Moreover,the profiles of the multipolar localized surface plasmons are illustrated in detail.The study provides rich potential applications in the plasmonic devices and the wavefront engineering nano-optics.

Nonparaxial propagation of Hermite-Laguerre-Gaussian beams in uniaxial crystal orthogonal to the optical axis

Analytical expressions for the three components of the nonparaxial propagation of a Hermite-Laguerre-Gaussian （HLG） beam in uniaxial crystal orthogonal to the optical axis are derived. The intensity distribution of an HLG beam and its three components propagating in a uniaxial crystal orthogonal to the optical axis are demonstrated by numerical examples. Although the y and z components of an HLG beam in the incident plane are both equal to zero, they emerge upon propagation inside the uniaxial crystal. Moreover, the beam profile of the x component is relatively stable and the beam profiles of the y and z components have the same evolution law. If the ratio of the extraordinary refractive index to the ordinary refractive index is larger than unity, the beam profile of the HLG beam is elongated in the x direction and generally rotates clockwise. Otherwise, the beam profile of the HLG beam is elongated in the y direction and generally rotates anticlockwise. This research is beneficial to the optical trapping and nonlinear optics involved in the rotation of a beam profile.

Tight Focusing Properties of Phase Modulated Radially Polarized Laguerre Bessel Gaussian Beam

We propose a new approach for generating a multiple focal spot segment of subwavelength size, by tight focusing of a phase modulated radially polarized Laguerre Bessel Gaussian beam. The focusing properties are investigated theoretically by .vector diffraction theory. We observe that the focal segment with multiple focal structures is separated with different axial distances and a super long dark channel can be generated by properly tuning the phase of the incident radially polarized Laguerre Bessel Gaussian beam. We presume that such multiple focal patterns and high intense beam may find applications in atom optics, optical manipulations and multiple optical trapping.

Analytical model for thermal lensing and spherical aberration in diode side-pumped Nd:YAG laser rod having Gaussian pump profile

In this paper, according to the temperature and strain distribution obtained by considering the Gaussian pump profile and dependence of physical properties on temperature, we derive an analytical model for refractive index variations of the diode side-pumped Nd：YAG laser rod. Then we evaluate this model by numerical solution and our maximum relative errors are 5% and 10% for variations caused by thermo–optical and thermo–mechanical effects; respectively. Finally, we present an analytical model for calculating the focal length of the thermal lens and spherical aberration. This model is evaluated by experimental results.

Phase Control of Transient Optical Properties of Double Coupled Quantum-Dot Nanostructure via Gaussian Laser Beams

We theoretically analyze the transient properties of a probe field absorption and dispersion in a coupled semiconductor double-quantum-dot nanostructure.We show that in the presence of the Gaussian laser beams,absorption and dispersion of the probe field can be dramatically influenced by the relative phase between applied fields and intensity of the Gaussian laser beams.Transient and steady-state behaviors of the probe field absorption and dispersion are discussed to estimate the required switching time.The estimated range is between 5-8 ps for subluminal to superluminal light propagation.

Laser transformation hardening on rod-shaped carbon steel by Gaussian beam

Laser transformation hardening(LTH) is one of the laser surface modification processes.The surface hardening of rod-shaped carbon steel(SM45C) was performed by lathe-based laser composite processor with Gaussian-beam optical head.The LTH characteristics by dominant processes,longitudinal and depth directional hardness distributions and behaviors of phase transformation in hardened zones were examined.Especially,two concepts of circumferential speed and theoretical overlap rate were applied.When laser power increased or circumferential speed decreased,the surface hardening depth gradually increases due to the increased heat input.Moreover,the longitudinal hardness distribution particularly shows periodicity of repetitive increase and decrease,which results from tempering effect by overlap.Finally,the feasibility of laser transformation hardening is verified by using the beam with Gaussian intensity distribution.

Stationary properties of a single-mode laser system with non-Gaussian and Gaussian noise

A single-mode laser system with non-Gaussian and Gaussian noise is investigated. The stationary mean value and the normalized variance of the laser intensity are numerically calculated under the condition that the stationary probability distribution function （SPDF） is derived. The SPDF as a function of the laser intensity exhibits a maximum, The maximum becomes smaller with the increase of the correlation intensity or the non-Gaussian parameter, where the later is a measure of the deviation from the Gaussian characteristic. The maximum becomes larger as the correlation time increases. The laser intensity stationary mean value decreases with the increase of the correlation intensity or the non-Gaussian parameter while increases with the correlation time increasing. The laser intensity normalized variance increases with the increase of the correlation intensity or the non-Gaussian parameter while decreases as the correlation time increases.

Generating Functions for Products of Special Laguerre 2D and Hermite 2D Polynomials

The bilinear generating function for products of two Laguerre 2D polynomials with different arguments is calculated. It corresponds to the formula of Mehler for the generating function of products of two Hermite polynomials. Furthermore, the generating function for mixed products of Laguerre 2D and Hermite 2D polynomials and for products of two Hermite 2D polynomials is calculated. A set of infinite sums over products of two Laguerre 2D polynomials as intermediate step to the generating function for products of Laguerre 2D polynomials is evaluated but these sums possess also proper importance for calculations with Laguerre polynomials. With the technique of operator disentanglement some operator identities are derived in an appendix. They allow calculating convolutions of Gaussian functions combined with polynomials in one- and two-dimensional case and are applied to evaluate the discussed generating functions.

Cross-focusing of two chirped Gaussian laser beams and THz wave generation in plasmas of multi-ion species under a weakly relativistic and ponderomotive regime

The generation of terahertz(THz)waves via the beating of two high-intensity chirped Gaussian lasers in a multi-ion-species plasma is numerically studied by taking into account the weak relativistic and ponderomotive regime of interaction.The coupled differential equations for beamwidth parameters are extracted by introducing the dielectric function of such plasma and using WKB and paraxial ray approximations.The amplitude of THz radiation at beat frequency resulting from the nonlinear current density induced by the beat ponderomotive force of the cross-focusing of beams was obtained.The impacts of the chirp frequency parameter,initial laser intensity and initial ionic species density(specifically,the presence of singly and doubly charged ions)in the plasma on THz generation were discussed.Our numerical results reveal that THz radiation generation strongly depends on the chirp frequency parameter.A specific range of chirp frequencies exists for self-focusing as well as THz generation with a'turning point',where the THz emission reaches its maximum value.The results show that the strength of self-focusing and consequently the generated THz radiation are reduced by increasing the density of doubly charged ionic species in the plasma due to the suppression of the nonlinear effects.

Nonlinear Ionization of Molecules by Intense Transform-Limited Gaussian Laser Pulses

We present in this paper an investigation of the nonlinear process of above-threshold ionization. The process arises when an atomic or molecular system, exposed to an intense laser pulse, continues to absorb more photons than that needed for the ionization to occur. We trigger this nonlinear process in a simple molecular system by exposing it to an intense transform-limited Gaussian laser pulse of 267-nm wavelength which is the third harmonic of an 800-nm wavelength Tisapphire laser. We explore the characteristics of the process by analyzing the kinetic-energy spectra of the electrons ejected from the molecular system under different laser peak intensities.