Attosecond temporal gating with elliptically polarized light

Infrared-laser-induced ultrafast modulation on the spectrum of an extreme-ultraviolet attosecond pulse

We present a theoretical investigation of the isolated extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulse propagating in the ionizing gas induced by a synchronized strong infrared (IR) laser, with the numerical solution of the nonadiabatic one-dimensional propagation model. Upon scanning the relative delay between the XUV and the IR pulse, it is found that the delay-dependent XUV transmission spectrogram exhibits the unique pattern that is controllable by the chirp of the XUV pulse. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this kind of spectrum modulation can be attributed to the term of the light energy loss involved in the propagation equation. The characteristics of the spectrum modulation dependent on the XUV chirp might provide an all-optical way for the reconstruction of the XUV spectral phase.

Mapping the spectral phase of isolated attosecond pulses by extreme-ultraviolet emission spectrum

An all-optical method is proposed for the measurement of the spectral phase of isolated attosecond pulses. The technique is based on the generation of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation in a gas by the combination of an attosecond pulse and a strong infrared (IR) pulse with controlled electric field. By using a full quantum simulation, we demonstrate that, for particular temporal delays between the two pulses, the IR field can drive back to the parent ions the photoelectrons generated by the attosecond pulse, thus leading to the generation of XUV photons. It is found that the generated XUV spectrum is notably sensitive to the chirp of the attosecond pulse, which can then be reliably retrieved. A classical quantum-path analysis is further used to quantitatively explain the main features exhibited in the XUV emission.

Unified approach to probing Coulomb effects in tunnel ionization for any ellipticity of laser light

We present experimental data that show significant deviations from theoretical predictions for the location of the center of the electron momenta distribution at low values of ellipticity ε of laser light. We show that these deviations are caused by significant Coulomb focusing along the minor axis of polarization, something that is normally neglected in the analysis of electron dynamics, even in cases where the Coulomb correction is otherwise taken into account. By investigating ellipticity-resolved electron momenta distributions in the plane of polarization, we show that Coulomb focusing predominates at lower values of ellipticity of laser light, while Coulomb asymmetry becomes important at higher values, showing that these two complementary phenomena can be used to probe long-range Coulomb interaction at all polarizations of laser light. Our results suggest that both the breakdown of Coulomb focusing and the onset of Coulomb asymmetry are linked to the disappearance of Rydberg states with increasing ellipticity.

Determination of ionization and tunneling times in high-order harmonic generation

From the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, we obtain the times of ionization and return of the laser-driven electron in high-order harmonic generation by probing the dynamics with a second harmonic field polarized orthogonal to the fundamental field and observing the harmonic emission in dependence on the two-color delay. Our retrieval method using complex-time evolution gives ionization and return times in excellent agreement with the quantum-orbit model, while a retrieval based on real-time classical dynamics can introduce substantial errors. Because of the imaginary parts, the harmonic signal polarized along the probe field is nonzero for any two-color delay. The tunneling time can be retrieved under an assumption for the return time.

Quantum-orbit analysis for yield and ellipticity of high order harmonic generation with elliptically polarized laser field

We perform a quantum-orbit analysis for the dependence of high-order-harmonic yield on the driving field ellipticity and the polarization properties of the generated high harmonics. The electron trajectories responsible for the emission of particular harmonics are identified. It is found that, in elliptically polarized driving field, the electrons have ellipticity-dependent initial velocities, which lead to the decrease of the ionization rate. Thus the harmonic yield steeply decreases with laser ellipticity. Besides, we show that the polarization properties of the harmonics are related to the complex momenta of the electron. The physical origin of the harmonic ellipticity is interpreted as the consequence of quantum-mechanical uncertainty of the electron momentum. Our results are verified with the experimental results as well as the numerical solutions of the time dependent Schrödinger equation from the literature.

Elliptical polarization favors long quantum orbits in high-order above-threshold ionization of noble gases

We demonstrate the significant role of long quantum orbits in strong-field atomic processes by investigating experimentally and theoretically the above-threshold ionization spectra of noble gases in intense elliptically polarized laser pulses. With increasing laser ellipticity, the yields of different energy regions of the measured electron spectrum in high-order above-threshold ionization drop at different rates. The experimental features can be reproduced by a theoretical simulation based on quantum-orbit theory, revealing that increasing ellipticity favors the contributions of the long quantum orbits in the high-order above-threshold ionization process.

Internal momentum state mapping using high harmonic radiation

We numerically demonstrate so-far undescribed features in ionization and high harmonic generation from bound states with nonvanishing electronic angular momentum. The states' modified response to a strong laser pulse can be exploited for novel measurement and pulse production schemes. It is shown that angularly asymmetric tunneling from the states can be mapped onto variations of high harmonic intensities and that near-circularly polarized isolated attosecond extreme ultraviolet or x-ray pulses can be produced.