arXiv subjects

D. Charalambidis

Publications and source records attributed to D. Charalambidis.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Energetic, tunable, highly-elliptically polarized higher harmonics generated by intense two-color counter rotating laser fields

In this work, we demonstrate experimentally the efficient generation and tunability of energetic highly-elliptical high-harmonics in Ar gas, driven by intense two-color counter rotating laser electric fields. A bi-chromatic beam tailored by a MAZEL-TOV apparatus generates HHG, where the output spectrum of the highly elliptical HHG radiation can be tuned for a energy range of \DeltaE\HF150meV in the spectral range of ~20 eV with energy per pulse EXUV~400 nJ at the source. Furthermore we employ time-dependent density functional simulations to probe in-depth the dependence of the harmonic ellipticity and the strength of the isolated atto pulses on the driving field parameters and demonstrate the robustness of the HHG with the bichromatic field. We show how by properly tuning the central frequency of the second harmonic, the central frequency of the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) high harmonic radiation is continuously tuned. The demonstrated energy values largely exceed the output energy from many other laser driven attosecond sources reported so far and prove to be sufficient for inducing (along with tight XUV focusing geometries) the nonlinear processes in the atomic system. We envisage that such tunable energetic highly-elliptical HHG spectra can remove the facility restrictions from requirements of few-cycle driving pulses for isolated circular attosecond pulse generation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Two-XUV-photon double ionization of Neon studied at the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI-ALPS)

Two XUV-photon double ionization of Ne, induced by an intense few-pulse attosecond train with a ~ 4 fs envelope duration is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experiment is performed at ELI-ALPS utilizing the recently constructed 10 Hz gas phase high-order harmonic generation SYLOS GHHG-COMPACT beamline. A total pulse energy up to ~1 μJ generated in Argon in conjunction with high reflectivity optics in the XUV region, allowed the observation of the doubly charged state of Ne induced by 40 eV central XUV photon energies. The interaction of the intense attosecond pulse train with Ne is also theoretically studied via a second-order time dependent perturbation theory equations-of-motion. The results of this work, combined with the feasibility of conducting XUV-pump-XUV-probe experiments, constitute a powerful tool for many potential applications. Those include attosecond pulse metrology as well as time resolved investigations of the dynamics underlying direct and sequential double ionization and their electron correlation effects.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2021

Temporal characterization of long quantum-path high harmonics

We measure for the first time the duration of long-quantum path EUV high harmonics produced in xenon gas. The long-quantum path contribution to the high-harmonic signal was carefully controlled by employing a two-colour driving laser field and a high-harmonic spatial selection in the far field, over a range of $18-25\,eV$ in photon energy. To characterise the temporal profile of long quantum path high harmonics, we performed a second order volume autocorrelation ($2-IVAC$) via two EUV photon double ionization in argon. Our results show the production and characterisation of a train of EUV pulses from the long-path with pulse duration as short as $1.4\,fs$. This measurement demonstrates that the long-quantum path emission can have enough flux for performing non-linear EUV experiments, and that the long trajectories enable a pulse duration short enough to support measurements with a temporal resolution below $2\,fs$.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2021

Generation of energetic highly elliptical extreme ultraviolet radiation

In this study the generation of energetic coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation with controlled polarization, is reported. The XUV radiation results from the process of high harmonic generation (HHG), in a gas phase atomic medium, driven by an intense two-color circularly polarized counter-rotating laser field, under loose focusing geometry conditions. The energy of the XUV radiation emitted per laser pulse is found to be of the order of ~100 nJ with the spectrum spanning from 17 to 26 eV. The demonstrated energy values along with tight focusing geometries is sufficient to induce nonlinear processes and challenges the perspectives for ultrafast investigations of chiral phenomena in the XUV spectral region.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2020

Quantum path interferences in high-order harmonic generation from aligned diatomic molecules

Electron quantum path interferences in strongly laser-driven aligned molecules and their dependence on the molecular alignment is an essential open problem in strong-field molecular physics. Here, we demonstrate an approach which provides direct access to the observation of these interference processes. The approach is based on the combination of the time-gated-ion-microscopy technique with a pump-probe arrangement used to align the molecules and generate high-order harmonics. By spatially resolving the interference pattern produced by the spatiotemporal overlap of the harmonics emitted by the short and long electron quantum paths, we have succeeded in measuring in situ their phase difference and disclose their dependence on molecular alignment. The findings constitute a vital step towards an understanding of strong-field molecular physics and the development of attosecond spectroscopy approaches without the use of auxiliary atomic references.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Polarization shaping of high-order harmonics in laser-aligned molecules

The present work reports on the generation of short-pulse coherent extreme ultraviolet radiation of controlled polarization. The proposed strategy is based on high-order harmonics generated in pre-aligned molecules. Field-free molecular alignment produced by a short linearly-polarized infrared laser pulse is used to break the isotropy of a gas medium. Driving the aligned molecules by a circularly-polarized infrared pulse allows to transfer the anisotropy of the medium to the polarization of the generated harmonic light. The ellipticity of the latter is controlled by adjusting the angular distribution of the molecules at the time they interact with the driving pulse. Extreme ultraviolet radiation produced with high degree of ellipticity (close to circular) is demonstrated.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2019

Time gated ion microscopy of light-atom interactions

The development of ultra-short intense laser sources in the visible and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range led to fascinating studies in laser-matter interactions and attosecond science. In the majority of these studies the system under investigation interacts with a focused laser beam, which ionizes the system. The ionization products are usually measured by devices, which spatiotemporally integrate the ionization signal originating from the entire focal area, discarding in this way valuable information about the ionization dynamics that take place in the interaction volume. Here, we review a recently developed approach in measuring the spatially resolved photoionization yields resulting from the interaction of infrared (IR)/XUV ultra-short laser pulses in gas phase media. We show how this approach enables a) the in-situ focus diagnostic, b) quantitative studies of linear and non-linear ionization processes in the IR/XUV regime, c) single-shot XUV-pump-XUV-probe studies and d) single-shot 2nd-order XUV autocorrelation measurements. The article has been published in J. Opt. 20, 024018 (2018) (doi.org/10.1088/2040-8986/aaa326).

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2018

Multiple ionization of argon via xuv-photon absorption induced by 20-gigawatt high-harmonic pulses

We report the observation of multiple ionization of Argon through multi-XUV-photon absorption induced by an unprecedentedly powerful laser driven high-harmonic-generation source. Comparing the measured intensity dependence of the yield of the different Argon charge states with numerical calculations we can infer the different channels -direct and sequential- underlying the interaction. While such studies were feasible so far only with FEL sources, this work connects highly-non-linear-XUV-processes with the ultra-short time scales, inherent to the harmonic pulses, and highlights the advanced perspectives of emerging large scale laser research infrastructures.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2014

Towards Quantum Information Processing at the Attosecond Timescale

Coherent processing of quantum information and attosecond science had so far little in common. We here show that recent data in high harmonic emission reveal quantum information processing at the attosecond timescale. By observing the interference pattern created by the spatiotemporal overlap of photons emitted by two interfering electron paths we generate a photon Hadamard gate and thus erase the electron-trajectory information. This allows the measurement of the relative phase in electron-trajectory quantum superpositions and establishes the era of electron-photon quantum coherence and entanglement at the attosecond timescale of high-field physics.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2013

Revealing quantum path details in high-field physics

The tunnelling of an electron through a suppressed atomic potential followed by its motion in the continuum, is the fundamental mechanism underlying strong-field laser-atom/molecule interactions. Due to its quantum nature, the interaction is governed by the phase of the released electron wave-packets. Thus, detailed mapping of the electron wave-packet interferences provides essential insight into the physics underlying the interaction. A process which is providing access to the intricacies of the interaction is the generation of high order harmonics of the laser frequency. The phase-amplitude distribution of the emitted extreme-ultraviolet (EUV), carries the complete information about the harmonic generation process and vice-versa. Thus, the visualization of the EUV-spatial-amplitude-distribution, as it results from interfering electron wave-packet contributions, is of crucial importance. Restrictions to this accomplishment are due to the spatially integrating measurement approaches applied so far, that average out the phase effects in the generation process. In this work, we demonstrate a method which overcomes this obstacle. An EUV-spatial-amplitude-distribution-image is induced from the imprint on the measured spatial distribution of ions, produced through EUV-photon ionization of atoms. Interference extremes in the image carry phase information about the interfering electron wave-packets. The present approach provides detailed insight on the strong-field laser-atom interaction mechanism, while establishing the era of phase selective interaction studies. Furthermore, it paves the way for substantial enhancement of the spectral and temporal precision of measurements by in-situ controlling the phase distribution of the emitted radiation and/or spatially selecting the EUV-radiation-atom interaction products.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2013

Tracing molecular dynamics at the femto-/atto-second boundary through extreme-ultraviolet pump-probe spectroscopy

Coherent light pulses of few to hundreds of femtoseconds (fs) duration have prolifically served the field of ultrafast phenomena. While fs pulses address mainly dynamics of nuclear motion in molecules or lattices in the gas, liquid or condensed matter phase, the advent of attosecond pulses has in recent years provided direct experimental access to ultrafast electron dynamics. However, there are processes involving nuclear motion in molecules and in particular coupled electronic and nuclear motion that possess few fs or even sub-fs dynamics. In the present work we have succeeded in addressing simultaneously vibrational and electronic dynamics in molecular Hydrogen. Utilizing a broadband extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) continuum the entire, Frank-Condon allowed spectrum of H2 is coherently excited. Vibrational, electronic and ionization 1fs scale dynamics are subsequently tracked by means of XUV-pump-XUV-probe measurements. These reflect the intrinsic molecular behavior as the XUV probe pulse hardly distorts the molecular potential.

physics.chem-ph↗

arXiv2011

Extreme-ultraviolet pump-probe studies of one femtosecond scale electron dynamics

Studies of ultrafast dynamics along with femtosecond-pulse metrology rely on non-linear processes, induced solely by the exciting/probing pulses or the pulses to be characterized. Extension of these approaches to the extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) spectral region opens up a new, direct route to attosecond scale dynamics. Limitations in available intensities of coherent XUV continua kept this prospect barren. The present work overcomes this barrier. Reaching condition at which simultaneous ejection of two bound electrons by two-XUV-photon absorption becomes more efficient than their one-by-one removal it is succeeded to probe atomic coherences, evolving at the 1fs scale, and determine the XUV-pulse duration. The investigated rich and dense in structure autoionizing manifold ascertains applicability of the approach to complex systems. This initiates the era of XUV-pump-XUV-probe experiments with attosecond resolution.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv2010

Persistent quantum interfering electron trajectories

The emission of above-ionization-threshold harmonics results from the recombination of two electron wavepackets moving along a "short" and a "long" trajectory in the atomic continuum. Attosecond pulse train generation has so far been attributed to the short trajectory, attempted to be isolated through targeted trajectory-selective phase matching conditions. Here, we provide experimental evidence for the contribution of both trajectories to the harmonic emission, even under phase matching conditions unfavorable for the long trajectory. This is finger printed in the interference modulation of the harmonic yield as a function of the driving laser intensity. The effect is also observable in the sidebands yield resulting from the frequency mixing of the harmonics and the driving laser field, an effect with consequences in cross-correlation pulse metrology approaches.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2010

The challenge of attosecond pulse metrology

The two basic approaches underlying the metrology of attosecond pulse trains are compared, i.e. the 2nd order Intensity Volume Autocorrelation and the Resolution of Attosecond Beating by Interference of Two photon Transitions (RABITT). They give rather dissimilar results with respect to the measured pulse durations. It is concluded that RABITT may underestimate the duration due to variations of the driving intensity, but in conjunction with theory, allows an estimation of the relative contributions of two different electron trajectories to the extreme-ultraviolet emission.

physics.optics↗

arXiv1999

Two-Electron Effects in the Multiphoton Ionization of Magnesium with 400 nm 150 fs Pulses

The multiphoton ionization and photoelectron spectra of magnesium were studied at laser intensities of up to 6x10^{13} Wcm^{-2} using 150 fs laser pulses of a wavelength of 400 nm. The results indicated that a variety of different ionization mechanisms played a role in both types of spectra. A theoretical model describing the processes is presented and the routes to ionization are identified. The work demonstrates the significance of the two-electron nature of the atom in interpreting the experimental results.

physics.atom-ph↗