arXiv · 2606.25479
Automatic-differentiation-enabled dynamic parameter retrieval with sub-pulse-width resolution
Abstract
Time-resolved terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is a phase-sensitive tool in condensed matter physics for tracking photoinduced non-equilibrium dynamics of low-energy elementary excitations. However, the measured response function, optical conductivity $\sigma(\omega,t_{pp})$, becomes unreliable in reporting the state of matter when material properties drastically change on a timescale comparable to or less than the probe pulse duration, obscuring the sub-pulse-width dynamics. To resolve this issue, we present a full-waveform inversion framework inspired by the multi-dimensional retrieval philosophy of frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG). By leveraging the automatic differentiation (AD) technique and the two-dimensional time-domain signal $E(t_{g},t_{pp})$, we show one can uniquely solve the inverse problem, at the sub-pulse-width resolution, of retrieving physical observables that are still well-defined, i.e., time-dependent scattering rate $\gamma(t)$, plasma frequency $\omega_\mathrm{p}(t)$ and resonance frequency $\omega_0(t)$, while the response functions are not. Further optimization by gradient-based routines (Adam + L-BFGS) via JAX makes the method exceptionally robust against experimental noise and probe pulse distortions. The validity of the AD-enabled methodology is benchmarked both by a self-consistent numerical approach and by experimental data from real ultrafast THz spectroscopy measurements.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Explore connections, maps & timelines
Huaiyue Peng, Yuchen Lin, Fu Deng, Xiaoyue Zhou, Jingdi Zhang. 2026-06-24. Automatic-differentiation-enabled dynamic parameter retrieval with sub-pulse-width resolution. https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.25479
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.