Femtosecond-resolution measurement of soft-X-ray pulse duration using ultra-fast population increase of singly charged ions induced by optical-field ionization

We demonstrate sub-100-fs resolution of a cross-correlation method for measuring the duration of soft-X-ray pulses. The method uses the ultra-fast increase in a singly charged ion population induced by optical-field ionization as a soft-X-ray -absorption switch. We measured the pulse duration of the 51st harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser pulse using Kr gas as a soft-X-ray absorption medium and found it to be 60 fs assuming that the harmonic envelope is equal to a squared secant hyperbolic. This confirmed that our method achieves a shorter temporal resolution than the 100-fs pulse duration of the ionizing laser pulse. The temporal resolution obtained in this way is expected to be from one-third to one-half the duration of the ionizing laser pulse, according to our calculation of the time-evolving population of the Kr⁺ ions. The experimental demonstration and calculation show that methods based on optical-field-induced ionization are promising for femtosecond temporal characterization of an ultra-short pulse in the soft-X-ray region. PACS 42.50.Hz; 42.65.Ky; 32.80.Rm; 06.60.Jn     

Sampling measurement of soft-x-ray-pulse shapes by femtosecond sequential ionization of Kr+ in an intense laser field

We propose a sampling technique for measuring the shape of ultrashort soft-x-ray pulses. The technique uses the transient state of Kr+ ions that is produced by the femtosecond sequential evolution of Kr ions during optical-field-induced ionization as an ultrafast x-ray-absorption sampling gate. We demonstrate the technique by measuring the pulse shape of the 51st harmonic (15.6 nm) generated by a 100-fs titanium:sapphire laser pulse. The measured pulse duration is 220 fs. Our experimental result confirms that the sequential evolution of Kr+ ions from neutral Kr to Kr2+ is the dominant contribution to the ionization process from the aspect of time-domain measurement.     

Pulse width measurement of high-order harmonics by autocorrelation

Pulse widths of the 7th and 9th harmonics of a Ti:sapphire (TiS) laser have been measured by an autocorrelation technique using two-photon and three-photon ionization of He and Ar as nonlinear phenomena. The pulse widths of the 7th and 9th harmonics were 47 fs and 27 fs, respectively, where the pulse width of the fundamental pulse was 34 fs. The pulse width of the 9th harmonic depends strongly on the peak intensity of the fundamental pulse. These results can be explained by quantum theory by taking into account the temporal and spatial distribution of the fundamental beam. Received: 15 June 1999 / Revised version: 8 October 1999 / Published online: 2 February 2000     

Isolated attosecond pulse generation from atom radiated by a three-color laser pulse

We theoretically investigate high-order harmonic and attosecond pulse generation from helium atom in a three-color laser field, which is synthesized by 10 fs/800 nm Ti-sapphire laser and a two-color field consisting of 30 fs/532 nm and30 fs/1330 nm pulses. Compared with harmonic spectrum generated by a monochromatic field, the harmonics generated from the synthesized three-color field show a supercontinuum spectrum with a bandwidth of 235 eV, ranging from the 154 th to the 306 th order harmonic. This phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that the ionization of atoms as well as motion of ionized electron can be effectively controlled in the three-color field. Therefore, an isolated 46-as pulse can be generated by superposing supercontinuum from the 160 th to the 210 th order harmonics.     

Ultra-broadband supercontinuum generation with a nonlinear chirped pulse for controlling quantum path

We theoretically investigate the high-order harmonic generation in helium atom driven by a nonlinear chirped laser pulse with few-cycle duration. By employing appropriate chirp to the driving pulse, an efficient electric field waveform of controlling quantum path for ultra-broadband supercontinuous harmonics is realized, and then an isolated sub-50 as pulse with bandwidth of 739 eV can be significantly obtained.     

A study of the global chirp dependence on the interaction of intense colored double pulses with clusters

The yields of highly charged atomic ions produced in the exposure of xenon clusters embedded in helium nanodroplets by intense colored double pulses show a notable sensitivity on the order of the subpulses. The only slight difference in their spectral composition leads to a flipping of the optimal laser parameters for effective multielectron ionization above certain charge states, which appears to be quite robust with respect to the chosen pulse fluence and reflects an avalanche-like developing cluster ionization scenario.     

三色激光控制量子路径生成短于30阿秒的孤立脉冲

采用多周期的800 nm钛宝石激光组合1600 nm中红外脉 冲辐照氦离子产生高次谐波发射功率谱. 相对于单色场情形, 谐波谱出现明显的双平台结构, 且在第二平台区出现了光滑的连续辐射谱, 其转化效率相对于第一平台低了约两个数量级. 通过附加脉宽为1 fs的27次谐波脉冲到双色激光场的特定时域, 可以控制电子电离在半个光学周期内迅速提升, 获得了由单一短量子路径贡献的连续辐射谱, 使得第二平台区谐波的转化效率相对于组合场情形增强4个数量级, 且连续谱的频谱范围从第二平台区扩展到第一平台区, 叠加该连续谱190次到285次谐波生成了脉宽为29 as的强、短孤立脉冲.     

Dramatic dwindling of the power spectrum of high order harmonics by shrinking of the gap size in bowtie nanostructures

Our work is based on high harmonic generation in a gaseous medium (helium ion), by exploiting gold bowtie nanostructures as laser field amplifiers. As the result of emission of a laser pulse, the wave function of the atom varies with time; so, it is necessary to solve 1D time-dependent Schrödinger equation by means of split operator method. By illumination of a short duration, long wavelength three color laser pulse inside the gap, the enhanced field not only changes with time, but also varies in space. In this work we considered this space inhomogeneity in linear and nonlinear schemes. We show that in nonlinear case, the plateau region is more extended. We also show that in larger gaps, cutoff occurs on higher frequencies. But limitation of electron motion in bowtie nanostructures leads to the choice of an optimum 16 nm gap size in our case. We predict that, by the superposition of supercontinuum harmonics, a 26 attosecond pulse can be generated.     

Dependence of the efficiency of formation of Ba2+ ions by the two-electron mechanism in two laser fields on the laser radiation intensity

The mechanism of formation of doubly charged ions upon nonlinear ionization of Ba atoms as a result of the simultaneous action of yttrium-aluminum garnet laser radiation and its second harmonic is investigated. It is shown that this mechanism is two-electron. The experimental data are compared with the results of the calculation carried out for Gaussian laser beams.     

附加谐波脉冲生成强的39阿秒孤立脉冲

采用多周期800 nm激光组合它的27次谐波脉冲生成超短、宽频的孤立阿秒脉冲.研究表明,脉宽为1 fs的27次谐波脉冲可以有效地控制电子动力学过程.将其加入到单色激光场的特定时域,可以控制电离概率在半个光学周期内迅速提升,使得谐波的转化效率相对于单色场情形增强4个数量级,并实现单一的短量子路径选择,出现频宽为108 eV的超连续辐射谱,叠加该连续谱140次到210次谐波获得了脉宽为39as的强、短孤立脉冲.与文献[7]中采用5 fs/800 nm激光附加紫外阿秒脉冲的方法相比,该方案生成的连续谱频带增宽一 关键词： 组合激光脉冲 连续辐射谱 阿秒脉冲     

超短强激光脉冲激励甲烷团簇的内电离机理

采用三维粒子动力学模拟方法研究了甲烷团簇在超短强激光脉冲激励下的爆炸动力学行为,重点讨论了几种典型的内电离机理对团簇爆炸过程中离子的价态和动能的影响.研究表明,在激光脉冲强度比较小的情况下,团簇中的原子主要是在光场作用下通过隧道电离的方式发生电离.当激光场进一步增强时,势垒压低电离是电离的主要方式.在相同的较高激光强度下,团簇更容易通过势垒压低电离达到高的电离价态.团簇发生电离后,其内部库仑电场的点火电离效应和内部滞留自由电子的碰撞电离效应也将增强团簇的再次电离过程. 关键词： 超短强激光脉冲 甲烷团簇 内电离     

27-fs extreme ultraviolet pulse generation by high-order harmonics

Autocorrelation measurement was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge in the XUV region to measure the width of a high-order harmonic pulse. Two-photon ionization of rare gases was used as a nonlinear process for the autocorrelation measurement. The 27-fs pulse width that was obtained is, to our knowledge, the shortest in the XUV region.     

Doubly charged ions resulting from the multiphoton atomic ionization of alkaline-earth metals

The study of the creation of doubly charged ions upon the laser-induced multiphoton ionization of alkaline-earth metals is reviewed. The results show that the features of the creation of the doubly charged ions depend on the spectral range of the ionizing laser radiation. In the ionization of the alkaline-earth atoms by the visible laser radiation, the cascade creation of the doubly charged ions is predominantly implemented when the ions result from the multiphoton ionization of singly charged ions created in the presence of the same laser pulse. In the multiphoton ionization of the alkaline-earth atoms by the IR laser radiation, the two-electron process occurs when the doubly charged ions are directly created from neutral atoms owing to the ionization via induced resonances with strongly perturbed states of these atoms.     

Plasma dynamically induced frequency shifts in high-order harmonic generation in nitrogen

Experiments and theoretical calculations on high-harmonic generation in nitrogen are presented in the regime of laser pulses of a 300-ps duration, where the plasma dynamics following the ionization of the medium plays a decisive role. The experiments are performed with ～4-GW Ti:sapphire laser pulses, giving rise to fully saturated ionization. The shifts between the exact harmonic frequency in the extreme ultraviolet and the integer multiple of the fundamental frequency are caused by the self-phase modulation of the laser pulse due to the time-dependent free-electron density in the plasma generated in the focal zone. Well-calibrated atomic resonances in the extreme ultraviolet measured through absorption in a secondary gas jet are used as frequency markers in the extreme ultraviolet for the accurate determination of the sign and magnitude of the frequency shifts. A theoretical model including both plasma dynamics and harmonic generation from atoms and ions has previously been developed, and successfully applied to explain the frequency red shift observed in xenon [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 123904 (2006)]. The plasma-dynamical model is extended and applied to the results of the harmonic generation in nitrogen, fully explaining the observed harmonic frequency shifts in the 9th and 13th harmonic.     

高频激光脉宽对原子光电子发射谱的影响

采用广义含时伪谱方法数值求解原子在激光脉冲作用下的动量空间含时薛定谔方程,研究了高频激光脉宽对原子光电子发射谱的影响.数值模拟表明,随着激光脉冲宽度的增加,光电子谱干涉结构的振荡幅值逐渐减小,其最大峰值的强度和位置取决于产生有效电离的最大即时强度.通过分析光电子谱的变化规律能进一步加深对高频强场电离产生的动力学干涉效应的理解.     

利用三色组合脉冲激光获得孤立阿秒脉冲发射

孤立阿秒脉冲因可以跟踪和控制原子及分子内电子的运动过程而备受关注.本文从理论上开展了氦原子在3束飞秒脉冲激光组合场辐照下产生的高次谐波和阿秒脉冲辐射的研究.组合激光场由16 fs/1600 nm,15 fs/1100 nm和5.3 fs/800 nm的钛宝石脉冲构成.与前两束脉冲合成的双色场产生谐波谱相比,附加钛宝石脉冲的三色场产生的高次谐波发射谱呈现出高转换效率及宽带超连续特性,超连续谱范围覆盖从230—690次谐波,傅里叶变换后实现了128 as高强度孤立短脉冲的产生.该结果归因于合成的三色场呈现出高功率及少周期的中红外飞秒脉冲激光特性,可以有效控制原子电离以及复合发生在中红外飞秒脉冲的一个有效光学周期内.     

Ionization of Hydrogen and Helium Atoms in Collisions with Relativistic Structural Heavy Ions

Based on the eikonal approximation, cross sections for single and double ionization of hydrogen and helium atoms in collisions with structural multiply charged heavy ions moving with relativistic velocities are calculated. In the present paper, the structural ions are taken to mean the ions with partially filled electronic shells. It is demonstrated that a consideration of the ion charge extension may noticeably change the corresponding cross sections compared to the cross sections for ionization by point ions having the same charges and energies.     

Generation of an isolated sub-30 attosecond pulse in a two-color laser field and a static electric field

We theoretically investigate high-order harmonic generation(HHG) from a helium ion model in a two-color laser field,which is synthesized by a fundamental pulse and its second harmonic pulse.It is shown that a supercontinuum spectrum can be generated in the two-color field.However,the spectral intensity is very low,limiting the application of the generated attosecond(as) pulse.By adding a static electric field to the synthesized two-color field,not only is the ionization yield of electrons contributing to the harmonic emission remarkably increased,but also the quantum paths of the HHG can be significantly modulated.As a result,the extension and enhancement of the supercontinuum spectrum are achieved,producing an intense isolated 26-as pulse with a bandwidth of about 170.5 eV.In particular,we also analyse the influence of the laser parameters on the ultrabroad supercontinuum spectrum and isolated sub-30-as pulse generation.     

利用多周期空间非均匀啁啾场产生单个短阿秒脉冲

提出了一种直接生成单个短阿秒脉冲的有效方案.采用数值求解一维含时薛定谔方程,理论研究了多周期空间非均匀啁啾场驱动预激发氦离子的高次谐波辐射和阿秒脉冲的产生.结果表明：在空间非均匀啁啾场作用下,谐波截止可扩展至1050阶次,并且高于300阶次以上的谐波是连续的.由于连续谱来自单一量子路径的贡献,滤出连续谱上880-1120阶次的谐波,直接产生了一个脉宽为11.4 as的单个脉冲.通过增加驱动脉冲的持续时间,可获得一个脉宽短至10 as的单个脉冲.     

Thermonuclear fusion in the irradiation of large clusters of deuterium iodide with a field of a superatomic femtosecond laser pulse

A theory of thermonuclear fusion caused by the irradiation of deuterium-iodide clusters with the field of a superatomic femtosecond laser pulse is developed. It is based on considering the process in which the sequential above-barrier multiple internal ionization of atomic ions within a cluster is accompanied by external field ionization. The theory is illustrated by taking the example of a cluster that is formed by 10⁶ molecules of deuterium iodide and which is irradiated with a laser pulse of duration 50 fs and intensity 2×10¹⁸ W/cm² at the peak. This case is dominated by I²⁶⁺ atomic ions. The yield of neutrons from thermonuclear fusion in a deuteron-deuteron collision upon the passage of a laser pulse is calculated. The result is 10⁵ neutrons per laser pulse. The mean kinetic energy of deuterons is estimated at 50 keV. Owing to induced inverse bremsstrahlung in scattering on multiply charged atomic ions, the electron temperature increases up to 28 keV. The role of the Mie resonance in the heating of the electron component is discussed.