Polarization control of above-threshold ionization spectrum in elliptically polarized two-color laser fields

We study the above-threshold ionization(ATI)process of atoms exposed to fundamental and high-frequency lasers with arbitrary ellipticity by applying the frequency-domain theory.It is found that the angular-resolved ATI spectrum is sensitive to ellipticities of two lasers and emitted angles of the photoelectron.Particularly for the photon energy of the highfrequency laser more than atomic ionization potential,the width of plateau tends to a constant with increasing ellipticity of fundamental field,the dip structure disappears with increasing ellipticity of the high-frequency field.With the help of the quantum channel analysis,it is shown that the angular distribution depends mainly on the ellipticity of high-frequency field in the case that its frequency is high.Moreover,one can see that the maximal and minimal energies in quantum numerical results are in good agreement with the classical prediction.Our investigation may provide theoretical support for experimental research on polarization control of ionization in elliptically polarized two-color laser fields.

Isolated attosecond pulse generation with few-cycle two-color counter-rotating circularly polarized laser pulses

Most of the schemes for generating isolated attosecond pulses（IAP） are sensitive to the carrier-envelope phase（CEP）of the driving lasers. We propose a scheme for generating IAP using two-color counter-rotating circularly polarized（TCCRCP） laser pulses. The results demonstrate that the dependence of the IAP generation on CEP stability is largely reduced in this scheme. IAP can be generated at most of CEPs. Therefore, the experiment requirements become lower.

Electron correlations in nonsequential double ionization of argon atoms by elliptically polarized laser pulses

Using a classical ensemble model, we investigate the correlation behaviour of electrons originating from nonsequential double ionization （NSDI） of argon atoms by the elliptically polarized laser pulses. Because of the ellipticity, not only the first electron to return but also the later return of tunneled electrons contribute significantly to NSDI. We mainly discuss two kinds of events of NSDI originating from the first and the second return separately. For the NSDI resulting from the recollision of the first return, the correlated electron momentum spectrum along the long axis of the laser polarization plane reveals an obvious V-like shape, located at the first and third quadrant. However, for the NSDI resulting from the recollision of the second return, the momenta of two electrons are distributed in the four quadrants uniformly. By analysing the trajectories of these two kinds, we find that the recollision energy and the laser phase at recollision are different for the first and second returning trajectories, which are responsible for the difference in the correlated behavior of the final electron momentum.

Electron acceleration by tightly focused radially polarized few-cycle laser pulses

Within the framework of plane-wave angular spectrum analysis of the electromagnetic field structure, a solution valid for tightly focused radially polarized few-cycle laser pulses propagating in vacuum is presented. The resulting field distribution is significantly different from that based on the paraxial approximation for pulses with either small or large beam diameters. We compare the electron accelerations obtained with the two solutions and find that the energy gain obtained with our new solution is usually much larger than that with the paraxial approximation solution.

High harmonic generation driven by twocolor relativistic circularly polarized laser pulses at various frequency ratios

High harmonic generation(HHG)by two-color counter-rotating relativistic laser pulses with arbitrary frequency ratio is investigated through particle-in-cell simulations.It is shown that the dichromatic laser driver at various frequency ratios can effectively produce high-order harmonics with different spectral features.A general selection rule of this extended scheme can be obtained and the corresponding harmonic helicity can be identified through a simple analytical model based on a relativistic oscillating mirror.Thus,the results in this paper may offer new opportunities for arbitrary spectral control of generated harmonics,which is of significance for diverse potential applications in practice.

Generation of elliptical isolated attosecond pulse from oriented H_(2)^(+)in a linearly polarized laser field

We investigate the ellipticity of the high-order harmonic generation from the oriented H_(2)^(+)exposed to a linearly polarized laser field by numerically solving the two-dimensional time-dependent Schrodinger equation(2 D TDSE).Numerical simulations show that the harmonic ellipticity is remarkably sensitive to the alignment angle.The harmonic spectrum is highly elliptically polarized at a specific alignment angleθ=30°,which is insensitive to the variation of the laser parameters.The position of the harmonic intensity minima indicates the high ellipticity,which can be attributed to the two-center interference effect.The high ellipticity can be explained by the phase difference of the harmonics.This result facilitates the synthesis of a highly elliptical isolated attosecond pulse with duration down to 65 as,which can be served as a powerful tool to explore the ultrafast dynamics of molecules and study chiral light-matter interaction.

Ultrafast photoionization of ions and molecules by orthogonally polarized intense laser pulses: Effects of the time delay

We present the photoelectron momentum distributions(PMDs) and the photoelectron angular distributions(PADs) of He+ ions, aligned H2+ molecules and N2 molecules by intense orthogonally polarized laser pulses. Simulations are performed by numerically solving the corresponding two-dimensional time-dependent Schr?dinger equations(TDSEs) within the single-electron approximation frame. Photoelectron momentum distributions and photoelectron angular distributions present different patterns with the time delays Td, illustrating the dependences of the PMDs and PADs on the time delays by orthogonally polarized laser pulses. The evolution of the electron wavepackets can be employed to describe the intensity of the PADs from the TDSE simulations for N2 molecules.

Photoelectron momentum distributions of single-photon ionization under a pair of elliptically polarized attosecond laser pulses

The attosecond ionization dynamics of atoms has attracted extensive attention in these days.However,the role of the initial state is not clearly understood.To address this question,we perform simulations on the neon atom and its model atom with different initial states by numerically solving the corresponding two-dimensional time-dependent Schrodinger¨equations.We theoretically investigate atomic photoelectron momentum distributions(PMDs)by a pair of elliptically polarized attosecond laser pulses.We find that the PMD is sensitive not only to the ellipticities of the pulses,the relative helicity,and time delay of the pulses,but also to the symmetry of the initial electronic states.Results are analyzed by the first-order time-dependent perturbation theory(TDPT)and offer a new tool for detecting the rotation direction of the ring currents.

Effect of elliptical polarizations on nonsequential double ionization in two-color elliptically polarized laser fields

Using the classical ensemble model, we investigate the nonsequential double ionization（NSDI） of Ar and Mg in the two-color elliptically polarized laser pulse for different elliptical polarizations. Numerical results show that for Ar atoms the NSDI yield increases as the ellipticity increases, which is different from the case of Mg atoms. Moreover, the correlated behavior in the correlated electron momentum along the x direction and ion momentum distributions of Ar atoms are influenced by the ellipticity. By statistical analysis of different times, we can conclude that the ellipticity may be responsible for the NSDI processes. The correlated momenta distributions along the x direction at the recollision time are demonstrated and the results show that the travelling time and ellipticity can affect the emitted directions of both electrons.

Controlling the contributions to high-order harmonic generation from different nuclei of N_2 with an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field

The generation of high-order harmonic and the attosecond pulse of the N2 molecule with an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field are investigated by the strong-field Lewenstein model.We show that the control of contributions to high-order harmonic generation（HHG） from different nuclei is realized by properly selecting the relative phase.When the relative phase is chosen to be φ= 0.4π,the contribution to HHG from one nucleus is much more than that from another.Interference between two nuclei can be suppressed greatly; a supercontinuum spectrum of HHG appears from 40 e V to125 e V.The underlying physical mechanism is well explained by the time–frequency analysis and the semi-classical threestep model with a finite initial transverse velocity.By superposing several orders of harmonics,an isolated attosecond pulse with a duration of 80 as can be generated.

High-order harmonic generation of N2molecule in two-color circularly polarized laser fields

The generation of high-order harmonics and the attosecond pulse of the N2 molecule in two-color circularly polarized laser fields are investigated by the strong-field Lewenstein model. We show that the plateau of spectra is dramatically extended and a continuous harmonic spectrum with the bandwidth of 113 eV is obtained. When a static field is added to the x direction, the quantum path control is realized and a supercontinuum spectrum can be obtained, which is beneficial to obtain a shorter attosecond pulse. The underlying physical mechanism is well explained by the time-frequency analysis and the semi-classical three-step model with a finite initial transverse velocity. By superposing several orders of harmonics in the combination of two-color circularly polarized laser fields and a static field, an isolated attosecond pulse with a duration of 30 as can be generated.

Generation of two-color polarization-adjustable radiation pulses for storage ring light source

To date, two-color pulses are widely used in pump–probe experiments. For a ring-based light source, the power of the spontaneous radiation fluctuates randomly in the longitudinal direction. It is difficult to produce twocolor double pulses by optical methods. In this paper, we introduce a method based on the echo-enabled harmonic generation scheme that generates two-color pulses in a storage ring light source. By adopting crossed undulators and a phase shifter, the polarization of the two-color pulses can be easily switched. A numerical simulation based on a diffraction-limited storage ring, the Hefei Advanced Light Source, suggests that the time delay and spectral separation of the two pulses can be adjusted linearly by changing the pulse duration and chirp parameters of the seed laser. A circular polarization degree above 80% could be achieved.

Relative phase effect of nonsequential double ionization in Ar by two-color elliptically polarized laser field

We investigated the nonsequential double ionization(NSDI)in Ar by two-color elliptically polarized laser field with a three-dimensional(3D)classical ensemble method.We study the relative phase effect of NSDI and distinguish two particular recollision channels in NSDI,which are recollision–impact ionization(RII)and recollision-induced excitation with subsequent ionization(RESI),according to the delay-time between the recollision and the final double ionization.The numerical results indicate that the ion momentum distribution is changed and the triangle structure is more obvious with the decrease of the relative phase.We also demonstrate that the RESI process always dominates in the whole double ionization process and the ratio of RESI and RII channels can be influenced by the relative phase.

Exploration of High-Harmonic Generation from the CS2 Molecule by the Lewenstein Method in Two-Color Circularly Polarized Laser Field

The high harmonic generation (HHG) from the CS2 molecule in intense laser fields is investigated using the extended Lewenstein method. The initial state is the highest-occupied molecular orbital of the CS2 molecule, which can be well described by Gaussian wave packet using GAMESS-UK package. Compared with the case of the elliptical laser, the HHG can be extended in two-color circularly polarized laser field. The time-frequency analysis and classical electron trajectory as well as the ionization yield curve are also presented to further explain the underlying mechanism. After adding a static electric field on the z-direction, the single quantum path control is realized and the supercontinuum spectra are obtained. Moreover, an isolated 110 as pulse can be obtained by superposing the harmonics from 130th to 180th order.

Generation of cavity-birefringence-dependent multi-wavelength bright-dark pulse pair in a figure-eight thulium-doped fiber laser

We experimentally demonstrated a stable multi-wavelength bright-dark pulse pair in a mode-locked thulium-doped fiber laser(TDFL).The nonlinear polarization rotation(NPR)and nonlinear optical loop mirror(NOLM)were employed in a figure-eight cavity to allow for multi-wavelength mode-locking operation.By incorporating different lengths of high birefringence polarization-maintaining fiber(PMF),the fiber laser could operate stably in a multi-wavelength emission state.Compared with the absence of the PMF,the birefringence effect caused by PMF resulted in rich multi-wavelength optical spectra and better intensity symmetry and stability of the bright-dark pulse pair.

High-power all-fiber linearly polarized Yb-doped chirped pulse amplifier based on active polarization control

High-power ultrafast laser amplification based on a non-polarization maintaining fiber chirped pulse amplifier is demonstrated.The active polarization control technology based on the root-mean-square propagation(RMS-prop)algorithm is employed to guarantee a linearly polarized output from the system.A maximum output power of 402.3 W at a repetition rate of 80 MHz is realized with a polarization extinction ratio(PER)of>11.4 dB.In addition,the reliable operation of the system is verified by examining the stability and noise properties of the amplified laser.The M2factor of the laser beam at the highest output power is measured to be less than 1.15,indicating a diffraction-limited beam quality.Finally,the amplified laser pulse is temporally compressed to 755 fs with a highest average power of 273.8 W.This is the first time,to the best of our knowledge,that the active polarization control technology was introduced into the high-power ultrafast fiber amplifier.

Dynamic study of compressed electron layer driven by linearly polarized laser

The dynamics of the compressed electron layer（CEL） are investigated when a linearly polarized（LP） laser pulse irradiates a plasma target. The turbulent motion of the CEL is investigated by a simple model, which is verified by particlein-cell（PIC） simulations. It is found that the compressed layer disperses in a few cycles of the laser duration, because the CEL comes back with a large velocity in the opposite direction of the laser incident. A larger wavelength laser can be used to tailor the proton beam by reducing the turbulence of the CEL in the region of the LP laser acceleration.

Plasma Approach for Generating Ultra-Intense Single Attosecond Pulse

In our previous work, a plasma approach for single attosecond pulse （AP） generation was proposed. A few-cycle relativistic circularly polarized laser pulse will induce a single drastic oscillation of plasma boundary, from which high-order harmonics and furthermore an ultra-intense single AP can be generated naturally after it is reflected. Analytical model and simulations both demonstrate that the process is mostly efficient as the pulse duration is close to the plasma responding time. The effects of plasma density ramp are analyzed here, suggesting that the proposal is still quite efficient with appropriate density gradient in the ramp. At last, a combined approach is employed to obtain single AP with 30 fs incident laser. The relatively large-duration pulse is firstly shortened by a density dropping thin foil, and then reflected from an overdense plasma target. One-dimensional simulation shows that a 600 as single light pulse is generated with peak intensity of 3×10^20 W/cm^2.

Polarization domains and self-mode-locked pulses in an erbium-doped fiber laser

We have observed various polarization domains and a giant self-mode-locked pulse in a 130 m long erbium-doped fiber laser without any mode-locking devices.By adjusting the intracavity polarization controller,we investigated the evolution process of the polarization domain with the varying cavity birefringence.When the birefringence was close to zero,the polarization domains split into multidomains,and finally a giant self-mode-locked pulse formed for the first time.We analyzed that the generation of the self-mode-locked pulse was related to the multiple subdomains ascribed to the strong coherent cross coupling between the orthogonal polarization light components in the long fiber cavity.

High stability and low noise laser-diode end-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic passively Q-switched laser at 1123 nm based on a Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)-PVA saturable absorber

We report a high repetition frequency, high power stability and low laser noise laser-diode(LD) end-pumped Nd: YAG ceramic passively Q-switched laser at 1123 nm based on a Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)-polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) film as a saturable absorber(SA). A Brewster polarizer(BP) and a birefringent crystal(BC) are incorporated to enable frequency selection and filtering for the passively Q-switched 1123 nm pulsed laser to improve the power stability and reduce the noise. When the pump power is 5.1 W, an average output power of 457.9 m W is obtained, corresponding to a repetition frequency of 1.09 MHz,a pulse width of 56 ns, a spectral line width of 0.65 nm, a power instability of ±0.92%, and a laser noise of 0.89%.The successful implementation of the “Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)-PVA film passively Q-switching” combined with “frequency selection and filtering of BP + BC” technology path provides a valuable reference for developing pulsed laser with high repetition frequency, high stability and low noise.