The dependence on optical energy of terahertz emission from air plasma induced by two-color femtosecond laser-pulses

The generation of terahertz （THz） emission from air plasma induced by two-color femtosecond laser pulses is studied on the basis of a transient photocurrent model. While the gas is ionized by the two-color femtosecond laser-pulses com- posed of the fundamental and its second harmonic, a non-vanishing directional photoelectron current emerges, radiating a THz electromagnetic pulse. The gas ionization processes at three different laser-pulse energies are simulated, and the corresponding THz waveforms and spectra are plotted. The results demonstrate that, by keeping the laser-pulse width and the relative phase between two pulses invariant when the laser energy is at a moderate value, the emitted THz fields are significantly enhanced with a near-linear dependence on the optical energy.

Probing Wave Packet Dynamics of I2^- Anions with Pump-Probe Femtosecond Spectroscopy

The wave packet dynamics of I2^- anions is studied by using the time-dependent wave packet method. Two conclusions can be drawn from the calculations. First, the period of the total photoelectron signal oscillating with the propagation of delay time is about 750fs. Second, the photoionization of I2^- anions begin at the time 600 fs, and the time needed for the population of the electronic state of I2 neutral molecule to reach the maximum becomes shorter with the increasing delay time.

Effects of Vacuum on Fused Silica UV Damage

Damage points induced by 355 nm laser irradiation increase more quickly on the surface of fused silica in vacuum of about 10^-3 Pa than in atmospheric air at the same fluence. The larger concentration of point defects in vacuum is confirmed by photoluminescence intensity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared absorption indicate the formation of sub-stoichiometric silica on the surface. The degradation mechanism of fused silica in vacuum is discussed.

A Kind of Low Loss Birefringent Photonic Crystal Fibre with Increasing-Diameter Air-Holes

We report the results of our investigation on the loss property of a birefringent photonic crystal fibre （PCF） based on a particular periodic arrangement of air-holes and pure silica. The structure of the birefringent PCF, whose air-hole diameter in one ring is always larger than the next inner ring, presents an obviously low confinement loss than the one whose air-hole （except those on the horizontal line） diameter is constant. It is shown from numerical results that a four-ring PCF with birefringenee B=5×10^-4 and fast axis confinement loss of 4.5×10^-3 dB/km at wavelength of 1.55μm can be designed.

Effect of Pulse Temporal Profile on Autler-Townes Splitting in Photoelectron Spectrum

The effect of pulse temporal profiles on the Autler-Townes （AT） splitting in photoelectron spectra is theoretically studied by employing the time-dependent wave packet method for a rotational Na2 molecule. The AT splitting which results from the sufficient Rabi oscillations is affected by the pulse profile and molecular alignment. The AT splitting may be observed only by utilizing proper pulse profiles with a certain intensity.

Optimal Feedback Control of Two-Photon Fluorescence Based on Genetic Algorithm

An optimal feedback control of two-photon fluorescence in the ethanol solution of 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl- 6-p-dimethyl-aminostryryl-4H-pyran （DCM） using pulse-shaping technique based on genetic algorithm is demon- strated experimentally. The two-photon fluorescence of the DCM ethanol solution is enhanced in intensity of about 23%. The second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating （SHG-FROG） trace indicates that the effective population transfer arises from the positively chirped pulse. The experimental results appear the potential applications of coherent control to the complicated molecular system.

Experimental Investigation on Selective Excitation of Two-Pulse Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering

Selective excitation of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering from the benzene solution is achieved by adaptive pulse shaping based on genetic algorithm, and second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating （SHG-FROG） technique is adopted to characterize the original and optimal laser pulses. The mechanism for two-pulse coherent mode-selective excitation of Raman scattering is experimentally investigated by modulating the pump pulse in the frequency domain, and it is indicated that two-pulse coherent mode-selective excitation of Raman scattering mainly depends on the effective frequency components of the pump pulse related to specific vibrational mode. The experimental results suggest that two-pulse CARS has good signal-to-background ratio and high sensitivity, and it has attractive potential applications in the complicated molecular system.

Pulse Compression by Filamentation in Argon with an Acoustic Optical Programmable Dispersive Filter for Predispersion Compensation

We have experimentally demonstrated pulses 0.4 mJ in duration smaller than 12 fs with an excellent spatial beam profile by self-guided propagation in argon. The original 52 fs pulses from the chirped pulsed amplification laser system are first precompressed to 32 fs by inserting an acoustic optical programmable dispersive filter instrument into the laser system for spectrum reshaping and dispersion compensation, and the pulse spectrum is subsequently broadened by filamentation in an argon cell. By using chirped mirrors for post-dispersion compensation, the pulses are successfully compressed to smaller than 12 fs.

A Scaling Law of Photoionization in Ultrashort Pulses

By means of the numerical solution of time-dependent Schr6dinger equation, we verify a scaling law of photoionization in ultrashort pulses. We find that for a given carrier-envelope phase and duration of the pulse, identical photoionizations are obtained provided that when the central frequency of the pulse is enlarged by k times, the atomic binding potential is enlarged by k times, and the laser intensity is enlarged by ka times. The scaling law allows us to reach a significant control over direction of photoemission and offers exciting prospects of reaching similar physical processes in different interacting systems which constitutes a novel kind of coherent control.

High-Power Extracavity Pulse Compression in Solid Materials

A novel technique for high-power extracavity pulse compression with a nonlinear solid material is demonstrated. Before spectral broadening by self-phase modulation in the solid material, a short filament generated in argon is used as a spatial filter, which works for a uniform spectrum broadening over the spatial profile. Compensated by chirped mirrors, a 15-fs pulse is generated from a 32-fs input laser pulse. A total transmission larger than 80% after the solid material is achieved.

Theoretical Investigation of Coherent Enhancement for Resonant Two-Photon Transitions

We theoretically investigate the coherent enhancement of resonant two-photon transitions （TPT） in a three-level atomic system. The TPT can be coherently enhanced by modulating spectral amplitude due to eliminating the destructive interference, though partial laser energy losses. Maximal enhancement of TPT can be achieved by modulating spectral phase due to establishing completely constructive interference. Our research provides a theoretical basis for experimental investigation and appears to have potential application on coherent control in the complicated quantum system.