Dichotomy of the hydrogen atom in superintense, high-frequency laser fields

Dynamics of Kramers-Henneberger atoms in focused laser beams of circular polarization

In intense laser fields, electrons of atoms will follow the laser field and undergo quiver motion just like free electrons but still weakly bound to the atomic core, thus forming a set of specific dressed states named Kramers-Henneberger (KH) states, which comprise the KH atoms. In a focused laser beam, in addition to Ponderomotive (PM) force, KH atoms will experience KH force, which is unique to KH atoms. We examine both PM and KH forces as well as corresponding velocity gain of hydrogen and helium atoms in a focused laser field with circular polarization. We work out laser parameters which can be used in experimental confirmation of circularly polarized KH atoms.

Interference patterns in ionization of Kramers-Henneberger atom

We combine IR pump and XUV probe laser pulses to visualize the Kramers–Henneberger (KH) state of the potassium atom. We demonstrate that ionization of such an atom exhibits some molecular-like features such as low order interference maxima in photoelectron momentum spectra. The locations of these maxima allow to estimate spatial dimensions of the KH atom and can be used for accurate calibration of high intensity laser fields. At the same time, we show that an analogy between the KH atom and a homo-nuclear diatomic molecule cannot be extended too far. In particular, higher order interference maxima are very difficult to observe in the case of the KH state. We attribute this to a particular structure of the KH potential which does not confine electron motion to a well-defined potential well unlike in real diatomic molecules.

Laser-Dressed Molecular Point Groups in the Kramers-Henneberger Oscillating Frame-of-Reference: Selection Rules for Higher Harmonic Generation

Point groups of molecules in a laser, within the Kramers-Henneberger (KH) oscillating frame for laser-dressed states, is given in this work. In a Fourier series of the time-dependent potential, the zeroth-order time-average yields the point group of the laser-dressed molecule. Various laser polarizations and relative molecular orientation induce a new point group or retain the original point group. The dynamical Fourier components (KH potentials) classify as irreducibles of this new laser-dressed point group. Recurrence of unique irreducibles in the Fourier expansion dictates the dynamical symmetry of the Floquet Hamiltonian. Hence, selection rules for harmonic generation spectra are Nk ± 1 in harmonic order, where N is the number of unique irreducibles and k∈N.

Electronic Transport Properties in GaAs/AlGaAs and InSe/InP Finite Superlattices under the Effect of a Non-Resonant Intense Laser Field and Considering Geometric Modifications

In this work, a finite periodic superlattice is studied, analyzing the probability of electronic transmission for two types of semiconductor heterostructures, GaAs/AlGaAs and InSe/InP. The changes in the maxima of the quasistationary states for both materials are discussed, making variations in the number of periods of the superlattice and its shape by means of geometric parameters. The effect of a non-resonant intense laser field has been included in the system to analyze the changes in the electronic transport properties by means of the Landauer formalism. It is found that the highest tunneling current is given for the GaAs-based compared to the InSe-based system and that the intense laser field improves the current–voltage characteristics generating higher current peaks, maintaining a negative differential resistance (NDR) effect, both with and without laser field for both materials and this fact allows to tune the magnitude of the current peak with the external field and therefore extend the range of operation for multiple applications. Finally, the power of the system is discussed for different bias voltages as a function of the chemical potential.

Symmetry breaking of Kramers-Henneberger atoms by ponderomotive force

It was believed that Kramers-Henneberger (KH) atoms in a linearly polarized superintense laser field exhibit the structure of "dichotomy." At large quiver amplitude, the two lowest-lying eigenstates are degenerated and both have a dichotomous symmetric structure. However, this is not a common structure for KH atoms because KH atoms practically can only exist in the focused laser field. However, in a focused laser, KH state electrons usually experience the ponderomotive force, which will lift the degeneracy and break the symmetry.

Young's Double-Slit Interference in a Hydrogen Atom

We demonstrate the possibility of realizing Young's double-slit interference in a hydrogen atom via ab initio simulations. By exposing the hydrogen atom to a high-frequency intensive laser pulse, the bound state distorts into a dichotomic Kramers-Henneberger state whose photoelectron momentum distribution imprints a double-slit interference structure. The dichotomic hydrogen atom presents molecular peculiarities, such as charge-resonance enhanced ionization, electron spin flipping due to the non-Abelian Berry phase. In return, the photoelectron momentum distribution carrying the double-slit interference structure provides unambiguous evidence on the existence of Kramers-Henneberger states, and thus the adiabatic stabilization.

Hovering States of Ammonia in a High-Intensity, High-Frequency Oscillating Field: Trapped into Planarity by Laser-Induced Hybridization

A high-intensity, high-frequency laser can create an oscillating induced dipole moment in a molecule. At high laser frequencies with a long pulse width, a stable non-ionizing state with a laser-induced hybridization of the electrons is formed. For ammonia, aligned with the linear polarization direction of the laser, such stable states can be realized. Electronic hybridization in the presence of the high-frequency field is such that the lone pair propensity is dynamically equalized on either side of ammonia. This leads to a destabilization of pyramidal ammonia and hovering states with the electron density flipping to either side of the geometry. Electronic structure calculations in an oscillating frame of reference anticipate this effect with a predicted classical quiver distance of 0.1 Å. Electronic dynamics at a laser intensity of 1.14 × 10¹³ W/cm² and a frequency of 8.16 eV predicts negligible ionization for the planar geometry. Approximate nuclear wave packet dynamics in the oscillating potential energy generated by the electrons predicts a trapping of ammonia in its planar transition state geometry.

Stark effect of Kramers-Henneberger atoms

The Electric Stark effect of a Kramers-Henneberger (KH) state of hydrogen atoms in both linearly and circularly polarized laser fields is studied. For the ground KH state of H atoms with a small quiver amplitude, the quadratic Stark effect is observed. For a large quiver amplitude, the Stark effect is quadratic only in a weak electric field and quickly changes to linear as the electric field increases. The atomic structure of the KH state is very sensitive to the electric field and can be easily polarized. The huge polarizability and induced dipole moment are comparable to those of Rydberg atoms.

Limit on Excitation and Stabilization of Atoms in Intense Optical Laser Fields

Atomic excitation in strong optical laser fields has been found to take place even at intensities exceeding saturation. The concomitant acceleration of the atom in the focused laser field has been considered a strong link to, if not proof of, the existence of the so-called Kramers-Henneberger (KH) atom, a bound atomic system in an intense laser field. Recent findings have moved the importance of the KH atom from being purely of theoretical interest toward real world applications; for instance, in the context of laser filamentation. Considering this increasing importance, we explore the limits of strong-field excitation in optical fields, which are basically imposed by ionization through the spatial field envelope and the field propagation.

Binding energy of hydrogenic impurities in quantum dots under intense laser radiation

We calculate the binding energy of on- and off-center hydrogenic impurities in a parabolic quantum dot subjected to an intense high-frequency laser field. An exactly solvable model that replaces the actual Coulomb interaction with the donor by a non-local separable potential is introduced for calculating the binding energy. The separable potential allows us to solve the problem exactly and all calculations are carried out analytically. The action of the laser irradiation results in dressed Coulomb and confinement potentials. At low laser intensity the binding energy is found to decrease when the impurity is shifted away from the origin. At high laser intensity and strong confinement the opposite behavior is observed. We propose a simple one-dimensional model that explains the observed crossover.

Linear Stark effect for a sulfur atom in strong high-frequency laser fields

Current trends in laser technology have reached the regime of studying atoms stabilized against ionization, going beyond the perturbation theory. In this work, properties of a laser-dressed sulfur atom are examined in this stabilization regime. The electronic structure of a sulfur atom changes dramatically as it interacts with strong high-frequency laser fields. Degenerate molecularlike states are obtained for the ground state triplet of the laser-dressed sulfur atom for high-frequency and moderate intensity laser parameters. The degenerate ground state is obtained for a laser intensity which is smaller by more than one order of magnitude than the intensity required for hydrogen atoms due to many electron screening effects. An infinitesimally weak static field mixes these degenerate states to give rise to asymmetric states with large permanent dipole moments. Hence, a strong linear Stark effect rather than the usual quadratic one is obtained.

Observing Rydberg atoms to survive intense laser fields

The idea of atoms defying ionization in ultrastrong laser fields has fascinated physicists for the last three decades. In contrast to extensive theoretical work on atoms stabilized in strong fields only few experiments limited to intermediate intensities have been performed. In this work we show exceptional stability of Rydberg atoms in strong laser fields extending the range of observation to much higher intensities. Corresponding field amplitudes of more than 1 GV/cm exceed the thresholds for static field ionization by more than 6 orders of magnitude. Most importantly, however, is our finding that a surviving atom is tagged with a measure of the laser intensity it has interacted with. Reading out this information removes uncertainty about whether the surviving atom has really seen the high intensity. The experimental results allow for an extension of the investigations on the stabilization and interaction of a quasifree electron with a strong field into the relativistic regime.

Effects of an intense, high-frequency laser field on bound states in Ga1 - xInxNyAs1 - y/GaAs double quantum well

Within the envelope function approach and the effective-mass approximation, we have investigated theoretically the effect of an intense, high-frequency laser field on the bound states in a GaxIn1 - xNyAs1 - y/GaAs double quantum well for different nitrogen and indium mole concentrations. The laser-dressed potential, bound states, and squared wave functions related to these bound states in Ga1 - xInxNyAs1 - y/GaAs double quantum well are investigated as a function of the position and laser-dressing parameter. Our numerical results show that both intense laser field and nitrogen (indium) incorporation into the GaInNAs have strong influences on carrier localization.

Exciton properties in zincblende InGaN-GaN quantum wells under the effects of intense laser fields

: In this work, we study the exciton states in a zincblende InGaN/GaN quantum well using a variational technique. The system is considered under the action of intense laser fields with the incorporation of a direct current electric field as an additional external probe. The effects of these external influences as well as of the changes in the geometry of the heterostructure on the exciton binding energy are discussed in detail.

Dimensional scaling treatment of stability of atomic anions induced by superintense, high-frequency laser fields

We show that dimensional scaling, combined with the high-frequency Floquet theory, provides useful means to evaluate the stability of gas phase atomic anions in a superintense laser field. At the large-dimension limit (D-->infinity), in a suitably scaled space, electrons become localized along the polarization direction of the laser field. We find that calculations at large D are much simpler than D=3, yet yield similar results for the field strengths needed to bind an "extra" one or two electrons to H and He atoms. For both linearly and circularly polarized laser fields, the amplitude of quiver motion of the electrons correlates with the detachment energy. Despite large differences in scale, this correlation is qualitatively like that found between internuclear distances and dissociation energies of chemical bonds.

New stable multiply charged negative atomic ions in linearly polarized superintense laser fields

Singly charged negative atomic ions exist in the gas phase and are of fundamental importance in atomic and molecular physics. However, theoretical calculations and experimental results clearly exclude the existence of any stable doubly-negatively-charged atomic ion in the gas phase, only one electron can be added to a free atom in the gas phase. In this report, using the high-frequency Floquet theory, we predict that in a linear superintense laser field one can stabilize multiply charged negative atomic ions in the gas phase. We present self-consistent field calculations for the linear superintense laser fields needed to bind extra one and two electrons to form He-, He2-, and Li2-, with detachment energies dependent on the laser intensity and maximal values of 1.2, 0.12, and 0.13 eV, respectively. The fields and frequencies needed for binding extra electrons are within experimental reach. This method of stabilization is general and can be used to predict stability of larger multiply charged negative atomic ions.

Beam dynamics and wave packet splitting in a periodically curved optical waveguide: multimode effects

A theoretical and experimental analysis of beam dynamics and wave packet splitting of light in a periodically bent optical waveguide, a phenomenon recently observed [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 073002 (2005)] which is the optical equivalent of adiabatic stabilization of atoms in intense and high-frequency laser fields, is presented in the multimode operational regime. Inhibition of wave packet splitting is theoretically predicted and experimentally observed for higher-order mode excitation.

Observation of wave packet dichotomy and adiabatic stabilization in an optical waveguide

We report on the first experimental observation of wave packet dichotomy and adiabatic stabilization of light in a periodically bent optical waveguide in analogy with similar behavior of atoms in high-frequency strong laser fields.

Quantum-mechanical analogy of beam propagation in waveguides with a bent axis: dynamic-mode stabilization and radiation-loss suppression

Wave propagation in an optical waveguide with a bent axis is studied under the scalar and paraxial wave approximations, and the quantum mechanical analogy with the electron dynamics in an atomic potential interacting with an intense electromagnetic field is highlighted. In particular we show that for a truncated parabolic waveguide with a periodically curved axis, a dynamic mode splitting with reduced radiation losses can be observed, which is fully analogous to the phenomenon of wave packet dichotomy and ionization quenching found in strong-field atomic physics.

Pulse dynamics in actively mode-locked lasers with frequency shifting

The dynamics of wave packet splitting in a dissipative Schrödinger-like dynamical system is theoretically studied by considering the model of an amplitude-modulated mode-locked laser with frequency shifting provided by an intracavity frequency modulation. It is shown that as the strength of the frequency modulation is increased, a bifurcation takes place which corresponds to a transition from a single-pulse steady-state oscillation to a two-pulse coherent oscillatory dynamics. An analytical model for pulse splitting bifurcation and onset of two-mode oscillatory dynamics, based on a Gaussian pulse analysis, is presented and compared with numerical simulations.

Classical and quantum periodically driven scattering in one dimension

Irregular scattering at harmonically driven one-dimensional potential wells is studied both on the classical and the quantum level. We show that an ac-driven single square well, and a smooth well with oscillating bottom, are sufficient to generate chaotic scattering. For a square well with oscillating bottom, we introduce the concept of pseudointegrable scattering. The quantum dynamics of these models is treated using Floquet scattering theory, which is exact for arbitrary amplitude and frequency of the driving. In the deep quantum regime, scattering is dominated by multiphoton exchanges with the driving field, leading to complex resonance structures in transmission and reflection. For strong and fast driving, the ac-driven square well develops an effective double-well potential that introduces coherent tunneling in the scattering. We identify signatures of classical chaotic scattering in a phase-space representation of the quantum dynamics.

Coulomb focusing in resonant production of super-ponderomotive photo-electrons from helium

We present wave functions of helium atoms exposed to an intense 800-nm laser, calculated by numerical integration of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation. Around 600 TW/cm2 strong resonance enhancements of high-energy electrons occur, each leading to the appearance of specific quasi-periodic charge distribution patterns around the atom. The time-dependence of several such states is presented and discussed.

Breakdown of stabilization of atoms interacting with intense, high-frequency laser pulses

An analysis of the influence of the magnetic field of an intense, high-frequency laser pulse on the stabilization of an atomic system is presented. We demonstrate that at relatively modest intensities the magnetic field can significantly alter the dynamics of the system. In particular, a breakdown of stabilization occurs, thereby restricting the intensity regime in which the atom is relatively stable against ionization. Counterpropagating pulses do not negate the detrimental effects of the magnetic field. We compare our quantum mechanical results with classical Monte Carlo simulations.

Motional dressed states in a bose-einstein condensate: superfluidity at supersonic speed

We present an exact analytic solution of a nonlinear Schrodinger field interacting with a moving potential (obstacle) at supersonic speed. We discover conditions under which the field can form a stable shape-invariant structure localized around the obstacle-a dressing effect that protects the field against excitations by the obstacle. Such an effect demonstrates the existence of frictionless motion beyond the conventionally defined critical velocity.