arXiv subjects

S. Skupin

Publications and source records attributed to S. Skupin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

Universal properties of locally generated terahertz waveforms from polarization-controlled two- and multi-color ionizing fields

The polarization states of terahertz (THz) radiation generated in a photo-ionized gas driven by strong two- or multi-frequency fields with locally controlled polarization are studied. We reveal a universal property of the resulting THz waveforms: the ellipticity of their polarization state increases linearly with the frequency. This ``linear chirp of ellipticity'' makes plasma-based THz generation unique among other THz sources. However, it also puts some constraints on the polarization properties of the generated THz radiation. We derive a general expression for the THz ellipticity and demonstrate how the polarization states of the generated THz waveforms can be manipulated and controlled by the polarization of the pump pulses.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

All-optical attoclock for imaging tunnelling wavepackets

Recent experiments on measuring time-delays during tunnelling of cold atoms through an optically created potential barrier are reinvigorating the controversial debate regarding possible time-delays during light-induced tunnelling of an electron from an atom. Compelling theoretical and experimental arguments have been put forward to advocate opposite views, confirming or refuting the existence of finite tunnelling time delays. Yet, such a delay, whether present or not, is but a single quantity characterizing the tunnelling wavepacket; the underlying dynamics are richer. Here we propose to augment photo-electron detection in laser-induced tunnelling with detection of light emitted by the tunnelling electron -- the so-called Brunel radiation. Using a combination of single-color and two-color driving fields, we identify the all-optical signatures of the re-shaping of the tunnelling wavepacket as it emerges from the tunnelling barrier and moves away from the core. This reshaping includes not only an effective time-delay but also time-reversal asymmetry of the ionization process, which we describe theoretically and observe experimentally. We show how both delay and reshaping are mapped on the polarization properties of the Brunel radiation, with different harmonics behaving as different hands of a clock moving at different speeds. The all-optical detection paves the way to time-resolving optical tunnelling in condensed matter systems, e.g. tunnelling across bandgaps in solids, on the attosecond time-scale.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Phase-matched high-order harmonic generation in pre-ionized noble gases

One of the main difficulties to efficiently generating high-order harmonics in long neutral-gas targets is to reach the phase-matching conditions. One issue is that the medium cannot be sufficiently ionized by the driving laser due to plasma defocusing. We propose a method to improve the phase-matching by pre-ionizing the gas using a weak capillary discharge. We have demonstrated this mechanism, for the first time, in absorption-limited XUV generation by an 800 nm femtosecond laser in argon and krypton. The phase-mismatch control ability of our method is confirmed by an analytical model and numerical simulation of the complete generation process. Our method allows increasing the efficiency of the harmonic generation significantly, paving the way towards photon-hungry applications of these short-wavelength compact sources.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Air-photonics terahertz platform with versatile micro-controller based interface and data acquisition

We present a recently developed terahertz platform. An air plasma produced by an ultrashort two-color laser pulse serves as a broadband terahertz source, with electric field that has peak amplitude in the MV/cm range. Air biased coherent detection of the terahertz field is employed where a peak detector associated with a micro-controller board acquires the signal coming from an avalanche photodiode. The temporal and spectral profiles of the produced terahertz electric field are presented, in excellent agreement with numerical simulations of the whole setup. We illustrate the capabilities of this platform by performing spectroscopy on water vapor and of a polystyrene reference sample.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Terahertz pulse generation by two-color laser fields with circular polarization

We study the influence of the polarization states of femtosecond two-color pulses ionizing gases on the emitted terahertz radiation. A local-current model and plane-wave evaluations justify the previously-reported impact on the THz energy yield and an (almost) linearly-polarized THz field when using circularly-polarized laser harmonics. For such pump pulses, the THz yield is independent on the relative phase between the two colors. When the pump pulses have same helicity, the increase in the THz yield is associated to longer ionization sequences and higher electron transverse momenta acquired in the driving field. Reversely, for two color pulses with opposite helicity, the dramatic loss of THz power comes from destructive interferences driven by the highly symmetric response of the photocurrents lined up on the third harmonic of the fundamental pulse. While our experiments confirm an increased THz yield for circularly polarized pumps of same helicity, surprisingly, the emitted THz radiation is not linearly-polarized. This effect is explained by means of comprehensive 3D numerical simulations highlighting the role of the spatial alignment and non-collinear propagation of the two colors.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Terahertz emission from laser-driven gas-plasmas: a plasmonic point of view

We disclose an unanticipated link between plasmonics and nonlinear frequency down-conversion in laser-induced gas-plasmas. For two-color femtosecond pump pulses, a plasmonic resonance is shown to broaden the terahertz emission spectra significantly. We identify the resonance as a leaky mode, which contributes to the emission spectra whenever electrons are excited along a direction where the plasma size is smaller than the plasma wavelength. As a direct consequence, such resonances can be controlled by changing the polarization properties of elliptically-shaped driving laser pulses. Both, experimental results and 3D Maxwell consistent simulations confirm that a significant terahertz pulse shortening and spectral broadening can be achieved by exploiting the transverse driving laser beam shape as an additional degree of freedom.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

An intuitive approach to structuring the three polarization components of light

This paper presents intuitive interpretations of tightly focused beams of light by drawing analogies to two-dimensional electrostatics, magnetostatics and fluid dynamics. We use a Helmholtz decomposition of the transverse polarization components in the transverse plane to introduce generalized radial and azimuthal polarization states. This reveals the interplay between transverse and longitudinal polarization components in a transparent fashion. Our approach yields a comprehensive understanding of tightly focused laser beams, which we illustrate through several insightful examples.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Maxwell-consistent, symmetry- and energy-preserving solutions for ultrashort laser pulse propagation beyond the paraxial approximation

We analytically and numerically investigate the propagation of ultrashort tightly focused laser pulses in vacuum, with particular emphasis on Hermite-Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian modes. We revisit the Lax series approach for forward-propagating linearly-polarized laser pulses, in order to obtain Maxwell-consistent and symmetry-preserving analytical solutions for the propagation of all field components beyond the paraxial approximation in four-dimensional geometry (space and time). We demonstrate that our solution conserves the energy, which is set by the paraxial-level term of the series. The full solution of the wave equation towards which our series converges is calculated in the Fourier space. Three-dimensional numerical simulations of ultrashort tightly-focused pulses validate our analytical development.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Creating Complex Optical Longitudinal Polarization Structures

In this paper we show that it is possible to structure the longitudinal polarization component of light. We illustrate our approach by demonstrating linked and knotted longitudinal vortex lines acquired upon non-paraxially propagating a tightly focused sub-wavelength beam. Remaining degrees of freedom in the transverse polarization components can be exploited to generate customized topological vector beams.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2016

Spectral dynamics of THz pulses generated by two-color laser filaments in air: The role of Kerr nonlinearities and pump wavelength

We theoretically and numerically study the influence of both instantaneous and Raman-delayed Kerr nonlinearities as well as a long-wavelength pump in the terahertz (THz) emissions produced by two-color femtosecond filaments in air. Although the Raman-delayed nonlinearity induced by air molecules weakens THz generation, four-wave mixing is found to impact the THz spectra accumulated upon propagation via self-, cross-phase modulations and self-steepening. Besides, using the local current theory, we show that the scaling of laser-to-THz conversion efficiency with the fundamental laser wavelength strongly depends on the relative phase between the two colors, the pulse duration and shape, rendering a universal scaling law impossible. Scaling laws in powers of the pump wavelength may only provide a rough estimate of the increase in the THz yield. We confront these results with comprehensive numerical simulations of strongly focused pulses and of filaments propagating over meter-range distances.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2016

Theory of terahertz emission from femtosecond-laser-induced micro-plasmas

We present a theoretical investigation of terahertz (THz) generation in laser-induced gas plasmas. The work is strongly motivated by recent experimental results on micro-plasmas, but our general findings are not limited to such a configuration. The electrons and ions are created by tunnel-ionization of neutral atoms, and the resulting plasma is heated by collisions. Electrons are driven by electromagnetic, convective and diffusive sources and produce a macroscopic current which is responsible for THz emission. The model naturally includes both, ionization current and transition-Cherenkov mechanisms for THz emission, which are usually investigated separately in the literature. The latter mechanism is shown to dominate for single-color multi-cycle lasers pulses, where the observed THz radiation originates from longitudinal electron currents. However, we find that the often discussed oscillations at the plasma frequency do not contribute to the THz emission spectrum. In order to predict the scaling of the conversion efficiency with pulse energy and focusing conditions, we propose a simplified description that is in excellent agreement with rigorous particle-in-cell simulations.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2016

Self-organization of light in optical media with competing nonlinearities

We study the propagation of light beams through optical media with competing nonlocal nonlinearities. We demonstrate that the nonlocality of competing focusing and defocusing nonlinearities gives rise to self-organization and stationary states with stable hexagonal intensity patterns, akin to transverse crystals of light filaments. Signatures of this long-range ordering are shown to be observable in the propagation of light in optical waveguides and even in free space. We consider a specific form of the nonlinear response that arises in atomic vapor upon proper light coupling. Yet, the general phenomenon of self-organization is a generic consequence of competing nonlocal nonlinearities, and may, hence, also be observed in other settings.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2016

Picosecond laser filamentation in air

The propagation of intense picosecond laser pulses in air in the presence of strong nonlinear self-action effects and air ionization is investigated experimentally and numerically. The model used for numerical analysis is based on the nonlinear propagator for the optical field coupled with the rate equations for the production of various ionic species and plasma temperature. Our results show that the phenomenon of plasma-driven intensity clamping, which is paramount in femtosecond laser filamentation, holds for picosecond pulses. Furthermore, the temporal pulse distortions are limited and the pulse fluence is also clamped. The resulting unique feature of the picosecond filamentation regime is the production of a broad, fully ionized air channel, continuous both longitudinally and transversely, which may be instrumental for numerous applications.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Modeling ultrafast shadowgraphy in laser-plasma interaction experiments

Ultrafast shadowgraphy is a new experimental technique that uses few cycle laser pulses to image density gradients in a rapidly evolving plasma. It enables structures that move at speeds close to the speed of light, such as laser driven wakes, to be visualized. Here we study the process of shadowgraphic image formation during the propagation of a few cycle probe pulse transversely through a laser-driven wake using three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. In order to construct synthetic shadowgrams a near-field snapshot of the ultrashort probe pulse is analyzed by means of Fourier optics, taking into account the effect of a typical imaging setup. By comparing synthetic and experimental shadowgrams we show that the generation of synthetic data is crucial for the correct interpretation of experiments. Moreover, we study the dependence of synthetic shadowgrams on various parameters such as the imaging system aperture, the position of the object plane and the probe pulse delay, duration and wavelength. Finally, we show that time-dependent information from the interaction can be recovered from a single shot by using a broadband, chirped probe pulse and subsequent spectral filtering.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2015

Femtosecond laser pulse train interaction with dielectric materials

We investigate the interaction of trains of femtosecond microjoule laser pulses with dielectric materials by means of a multi-scale model. Our theoretical predictions are directly confronted with experimental observations in soda-lime glass. We show that due to the low heat conductivity, a significant fraction of the laser energy can be accumulated in the absorption region. Depending on the pulse repetition rate, the material can be heated to high temperatures even though the single pulse energy is too low to induce a significant material modification. Regions heated above the glass transition temperature in our simulations correspond very well to zones of permanent material modifications observed in the experiments.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Direct observation of the injection dynamics of a laser wakefield accelerator using few-femtosecond shadowgraphy

We present few-femtosecond shadowgraphic snapshots taken during the non-linear evolution of the plasma wave in a laser wakefield accelerator with transverse synchronized few-cycle probe pulses. These snapshots can be directly associated with the electron density distribution within the plasma wave and give quantitative information about its size and shape. Our results show that self-injection of electrons into the first plasma wave period is induced by a lengthening of the first plasma period. Three dimensional particle in cell simulations support our observations.

physics.plasm-ph↗

arXiv2014

Boosting terahertz generation in laser-field ionized gases using a sawtooth wave shape

Broadband ultrashort terahertz (THz) pulses can be produced using plasma generation in a noble gas ionized by femtosecond two-color pulses. Here we demonstrate that, by using multiple-frequency laser pulses, one can obtain a waveform which optimizes the free electron trajectories in such a way that they reach the highest velocity at the electric field extrema. This allows to increase the THz conversion efficiency to the percent level, an unprecedented performance for THz generation in gases. Besides the analytical study of THz generation using a local current model, we perform comprehensive 3D simulations accounting for propagation effects which confirm this prediction. Our results show that THz conversion via tunnel ionization can be greatly improved with well-designed multicolor pulses.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Quasiperiodic oscillations and homoclinic orbits in the nonlinear nonlocal Schrödinger equation

Quasiperiodic oscillations and shape-transformations of higher-order bright solitons in nonlinear nonlocal media have been frequently observed in recent years, however, the origin of these phenomena was never completely elucidated. In this paper, we perform a linear stability analysis of these higher-order solitons by solving the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations. This enables us to understand the emergence of a new oscillatory state as a growing unstable mode of a higher-order soliton. Using dynamically important states as a basis, we provide low-dimensional visualizations of the dynamics and identify quasiperiodic and homoclinic orbits, linking the latter to shape-transformations.

nlin.PS↗