Verifying continuous variable entanglement of intense light pulses

Rotational excitation of molecules with long sequences of intense femtosecond pulses

We investigate the prospects of creating broad rotational wave packets by means of molecular interaction with long sequences of intense femtosecond pulses. Using state-resolved rotational Raman spectroscopy of oxygen, subject to a sequence of more than 20 laser pulses with peak intensities exceeding $10^{13}$ W/cm$^{2}$ per pulse, we show that the centrifugal distortion is the main obstacle on the way to reaching high rotational states. We demonstrate that the timing of the pulses can be optimized to partially mitigate the centrifugal limit. The cumulative effect of a long pulse sequence resul…

Near-ionization-threshold emission in atomic gases driven by intense sub-cycle pulses

We study theoretically the dipole radiation of a hydrogen atom driven by an intense sub-cycle pulse. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the system is solved by ab initio calculation to obtain the dipole response. Remarkably, a narrowband emission lasting longer than the driving pulse appears at a frequency just above the ionization threshold. An additional calculation using the strong field approximation also recovers this emission, which suggests that it corresponds to the oscillation of nearly-bound electrons that behave similarly to Rydberg electrons. The predicted phenomenon is un…

Probing the quantum vacuum with ultra intense laser pulses

This article presents: 1) The theoretical background of strong field physics and vacuum structure and stability; 2) The instrumental developments in the area of pulse lasers and considers the physics case for ultra intense laser facilities; and 3) Discussion of the applied and fundamental uses of ultra-intense lasers.

Efficient simulation of multielectron dynamics in molecules under intense laser pulses: Implementation of the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method based on the adaptive finite element method

We present an implementation of the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree-Fock method based on the adaptive finite element method for molecules under intense laser pulses. For efficient simulations, orbital functions are propagated by a stable propagator using the short iterative Arnoldi scheme and our implementation is parallelized for distributed memory computing. This is demonstrated by simulating high-harmonic generation from a water molecule and achieves a simulation of multielectron dynamics with overwhelmingly less computational time, compared to our previous work.

Generation of electron vortex states in ionization by intense and short laser pulses

The generation of electron vortex states in ionization by intense and short laser pulses is analyzed under the scope of the lowest-order Born approximation. For near infrared laser fields and nonrelativistic intensities of the order of $10^{16}$~W/cm$^2$, we show that one has to modify the nonrelativistic treatment of ionization by accounting for recoil and mass relativistic corrections. By using the corrected quasi-relativistic theory, the requirements for the observation of electron vortex states with non-negligible probability and large topological charge are determined.

Quantum beats in the polarization response of a dielectric to intense few-cycle laser pulses

We have investigated the polarization response of a dielectric to intense few-cycle laser pulses with a focus on interband tunnelling. Once charge carriers are created in an initially empty conduction band, they make a significant contribution to the polarization response. In particular, the coherent superposition of conduction- and valence-band states results in quantum beats. This quantum-beat part of the polarization response is affected by the excitation dynamics and attosecond-scale motion of charge carriers in an intense laser field. Our analysis shows that, with the onset of Bloch oscil…

Temperature measurements of a Bose--Einstein condensate by ultra--intense light pulses

Experimentally the temperature in a Bose--Einstein condensate is always deduced resorting to the comparison between the Maxwell--Boltzmann velocity distribution function and the density profile in momentum space. Though a successful method it is an approximation, since it also implies the use of classical statistical mechanics at temperatures close to the condensation temperature where quantal effects play a relevant role. The present work puts forward a new method in which we use an ultra--intense light pulse and a nonlinear optical material as detectors for differences in times--of--flight. …

The role of tunneling in the ionization of atoms by ultrashort and intense laser pulses

Classically allowed transport is shown to compete with quantum tunneling during the ionization of atoms by ultrashort and intense laser pulses, despite Keldysh parameters smaller than unity. This is done by comparing exact probability densities with the ones obtained from purely classical propagation using the Truncated Wigner Approximation. Not only is classical transport capable of moving trajectories away from the core, but it can also furnish ionization probabilities of the same order as the quantum ones for intensities currently employed in experiments. Our results have implications rangi…

两原子共振X射线散射中量子干涉

Quantum Interference in Two-Atom Resonant X-ray Scattering of an Intense Attosecond Pulse

研究两非相互作用Ne+离子在强极紫外脉冲驱动下的共振X射线散射，分析脉冲强度、原子配置和初始电子态对总散射信号的影响，发现共振散射产率高于非共振，信号角依赖性类似双原子结构因子，干涉条纹可见度受脉冲面积和初始电子态影响。

Intense 2-cycle laser pulses induce time-dependent bond-hardening in a polyatomic molecule

A time-dependent bond-hardening process is discovered in a polyatomic molecule (tetramethyl silane, TMS) using few-cycle pulses of intense 800 nm light. In conventional mass spectrometry, symmetrical molecules like TMS do not exhibit a prominent molecular ion (TMS$^+$) as unimolecular dissociation into [Si(CH$_3$)$_3]^+$ proceeds very fast. Under strong field and few-cycle conditions, this dissociation channel is defeated by time-dependent bond-hardening: a field-induced potential well is created in the TMS$^+$ potential energy curve that effectively traps a wavepacket. The time-dependence of …