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Results for “ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSES”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 613 records · Page 34
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2010

From fast to slow light in a resonantly driven absorbing medium

We theoretically study the propagation through a resonant absorbing medium of a time-dependent perturbation modulating the amplitude of a continuous wave (cw). Modeling the medium as a two-level system and linearizing the Maxwell-Bloch equations for the perturbation, we establish an exact analytical expression of the transfer function relating the Fourier transforms of the incident and transmitted perturbations. It directly gives the gain and the phase shift undergone in the medium by a harmonic modulation. For the case of a pulse modulation, it enables us to determine the transmission time of the pulse center of mass (group delay), evidencing the relative contributions of the coherent and incoherent (population) relaxations. We show that the group delay has a negative value (fast light) fixed by the coherent effects when the cw intensity is small compared to the saturation intensity and becomes positive (slow light) when this intensity increases, before attaining a maximum that cannot exceed the population relaxation time. The analytical results are completed by numerical determinations of the shape of the transmitted pulses in the different regimes.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2010

Control of the high-order harmonics cutoff and attosecond pulse generation through the combination of a chirped fundamental laser and a subharmonic laser field

We propose a method to generate an isolated attosecond (as) pulse in combination with a chirped fundamental laser field (5 fs, 800 nm) and a subharmonic laser field (12 fs, 1600 nm). It is shown that, for the case of the chirped parameter {beta}=0.25, not only is the efficiency of the extended harmonics enhanced, but also an ultrabroad supercontinuum is formed in the second plateau. For the case of {beta}=0.65, an ultrabroad supercontinuum spectrum with the width of about 1670 eV can be observed. Furthermore, due to the introduction of chirped pulse, the short quantum trajectory is enhanced, and the long one is suppressed. By superposing a properly selected range of the harmonic spectrum in the continuum region, an intense isolated 38-as pulse is generated.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Ultrashort-pulse-train pump and dump excitation of a diatomic molecule

An excitation scheme is proposed for transferring population between ground-vibrational levels of a molecule. The transfer is accomplished by pumping and dumping population with a pair of coherent ultrashort-pulse trains via a stationary state. By mismatching the teeth of the frequency combs associated with the pulse trains to the vibrational levels, high selectivity in the excitation, along with high transfer efficiency, is predicted. The pump-dump scheme does not suffer from spontaneous emission losses, it is insensitive to the pump-dump-train delay, and it requires only basic pulse shaping.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Observation of Postsoliton Expansion Following Laser Propagation through an Underdense Plasma

The expansion of electromagnetic postsolitons emerging from the interaction of a 30 ps, 3x10{sup 18} W cm{sup -2} laser pulse with an underdense deuterium plasma has been observed up to 100 ps after the pulse propagation, when large numbers of postsolitons were seen to remain in the plasma. The temporal evolution of the postsolitons has been accurately characterized with a high spatial and temporal resolution. The observed expansion is compared to analytical models and three-dimensional particle-in-cell results, revealing a polarization dependence of the postsoliton dynamics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Self-consistent Maxwell-Bloch theory of quantum-dot-population switching in photonic crystals

We theoretically demonstrate the population switching of quantum dots (QD's), modeled as two-level atoms in idealized one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystals (PC's) by self-consistent solution of the Maxwell-Bloch equations. In our semiclassical theory, energy states of the electron are quantized, and electron dynamics is described by the atomic Bloch equation, while electromagnetic waves satisfy the classical Maxwell equations. Near a waveguide cutoff in a photonic band gap, the local electromagnetic density of states (LDOS) and spontaneous emission rates exhibit abrupt changes with frequency, enabling large QD population inversion driven by both continuous and pulsed optical fields. We recapture and generalize this ultrafast population switching using the Maxwell-Bloch equations. Radiative emission from the QD is obtained directly from the surrounding PC geometry using finite-difference time-domain simulation of the electromagnetic field. The atomic Bloch equations provide a source term for the electromagnetic field. The total electromagnetic field, consisting of the external input and radiated field, drives the polarization components of the atomic Bloch vector. We also include a microscopic model for phonon dephasing of the atomic polarization and nonradiative decay caused by damped phonons. Our self-consistent theory captures stimulated emission and coherent feedback effects of the atomic Mollow sidebands, neglected in earlier treatments. This leads to remarkable high-contrast QD-population switching with relatively modest (factor of 10) jump discontinuities in the electromagnetic LDOS. Switching is demonstrated in three separate models of QD's placed (i) in the vicinity of a band edge of a 1D PC, (ii) near a cutoff frequency in a bimodal waveguide channel of a 2D PC, and (iii) in the vicinity of a localized defect mode side coupled to a single-mode waveguide channel in a 2D PC.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Digital signal processing in coupled photonic crystal waveguides and its application to an all-optical AND logic gate

The realization of all-optical AND logic gates for pulsed signal operation based on the photonic bandgap transmission phenomenon is proposed. We are using realistic planar air-hole type coupled photonic crystal waveguides (C-PCWs) with Kerr-type nonlinear background medium. The novelty of our analysis is that the proposed AND logic gate operates with the temporal solitons, which maintain a stable envelope propagating in the nonlinear C-PCWs, enabling true ultrafast full-optical digital signal processing in the time-domain. The bandgap transmission takes place when the operating frequency is chosen at the very edge of the dispersion curve of one of the supermodes in the C-PCWs. In this regard, our original fast and accurate method is used to efficiently calculate the supermodes of the C-PCW system. The underlying semi-analytical full-wave modal analysis is based on the evaluation of the lattice sums for complex wavenumbers using the transition-matrix method in combination with the generalized reflection-matrix approach. As a proof of concept successful pulse operation of the all-optical AND logic gate is demonstrated in the framework of extensive full-wave finite-difference time-domain electromagnetics analysis.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Laser-assisted molecular alignment in a strongly dissipative environment

This paper shows that transient alignment of linear molecules in a dense collisional environment can result from the formation of trapped aligned ''dark'' states in a laser field constituting either a comb of resonant short pulses or a sinusoidally frequency-modulated wave with a continuous flux. Simulation of the laser-induced dynamics of CO molecules reveals that the latter approach is effective at room temperature and requires three orders of magnitude less laser intensity compared to known alignment techniques.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Controlling the Spacing of Attosecond Pulse Trains from Relativistic Surface Plasmas

When a laser pulse hits a solid surface with relativistic intensities, XUV attosecond pulses are generated in the reflected light. We present an experimental and theoretical study of the temporal properties of attosecond pulse trains in this regime. The recorded harmonic spectra show distinct fine structures which can be explained by a varying temporal pulse spacing that can be controlled by the laser contrast. The pulse spacing is directly related to the cycle-averaged motion of the reflecting surface. Thus the harmonic spectrum contains information on the relativistic plasma dynamics.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Isolated Attosecond Pulse Generation without the Need to Stabilize the Carrier-Envelope Phase of Driving Lasers

Single isolated attosecond pulses can be extracted from a pulse train with an ultrafast gate in the generation target. By setting the gate width sufficiently narrow with the generalized double optical gating, we demonstrate that single isolated attosecond pulses can be generated with any arbitrary carrier-envelope phase value of the driving laser. The carrier-envelope phase only affects the photon flux, not the pulse duration or contrast. Our results show that isolated attosecond pulses can be generated using carrier-envelope phase unstabilized 23 fs pulses directly from chirped pulse amplifiers.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2010

Soliton rains in a fiber laser: An experimental study

Rains of solitons constitute a class of nonlinear dynamics of dissipative soliton ensembles that we briefly reported in Opt. Express 17, 11776 (2009) from a fiber laser experiment. The existence of a relatively intense noisy background together with several tens of soliton pulses aggregated in a condensed soliton phase constitutes a necessary condition for their appearance. New soliton pulses form spontaneously from the background fluctuations and drift until they reach the condensed soliton phase. We here relate in detail the experimental conditions under which soliton rains manifest and their key features, describe related dynamics observed in their vicinity, and propose an explanation for soliton rain dynamics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2010

Laser-induced damage threshold of silicon in millisecond, nanosecond, and picosecond regimes

Millisecond, nanosecond, and picosecond laser pulse induced damage thresholds on single-crystal are investigated in this study. The thresholds of laser-induced damage on silicon are calculated theoretically for three pulse widths based on the thermal damage model. An axisymmetric mathematical model is established for the transient temperature field of the silicon. Experiments are performed to test the damage thresholds of silicon at various pulse widths. The results indicate that the damage thresholds obviously increase with the increasing of laser pulse width. Additionally, the experimental results agree well with theoretical calculations and numerical simulation results.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Parameteric studies of nonlinear oblique magnetosonic waves in two-ion-species plasmas

The study of the effects of ion composition on perpendicular magnetosonic waves in two-ion-species plasmas [M. Toida, H. Higashino, and Y. Ohsawa, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 76, 104052 (2007)] is extended to include oblique waves. First, the conditions necessary for KdV equations for low- and high-frequency modes to be valid are analytically obtained. The upper limit of the amplitude of the low-frequency-mode pulse is expressed as a function of the propagation angle {theta}, density ratio, and cyclotron frequency ratio of the two ion species. Next, with electromagnetic particle simulations, the nonlinear evolution of a long-wavelength low-frequency-mode disturbance is examined for various {theta}s in two plasmas with different ion densities and cyclotron frequency ratios, and the theory for the low-frequency-mode pulse is confirmed. It is also shown that if the pulse amplitude exceeds the theoretical value of the upper limit of the amplitude, then shorter-wavelength low- and high-frequency-mode waves are generated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2010

Enhanced selectivity and efficiency of coherent population transfer via a train of pulse pairs

We propose a way to significantly enhance selectivity and efficiency of coherent population transfer in a {Lambda}-type four-level system with a closely spaced doublet in the final state by using a train of counterintuitively ordered pump-Stokes pulse pairs. Due to temporal constructive and destructive quantum interference between the sequential transitions and subsequent coherent accumulation and annihilation in the time domain, the spectral resolution of selective and perfect population transfer to either of the final states can be improved by more than one order of magnitude as compared to the conventionally widely used stimulated Raman adiabatic passage and chirped adiabatic passage techniques, which can also be well understood as a result of the formation of a comblike structure of the pulse train spectrum in the frequency domain. Moreover, an arbitrary coherent superposition between the closely separated doublet can be achieved by suitably tuning the repetition period and detuning of the laser fields. This method has potential applications in control of chemical reactions and quantum information processing.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Analytic generalized description of a perturbative nonparaxial elegant Laguerre-Gaussian phasor for ultrashort pulses in the time domain

An analytic expression for a polychromatic phasor representing an arbitrarily short elegant Laguerre-Gauss (eLG) laser pulse of any spot size and LG mode is presented in the time domain as a nonrecursive, closed-form perturbative expansion valid to any order of perturbative correction. Here, this phasor enables the calculation of the complex electromagnetic fields for such beams without requiring the evaluation of any Fourier integrals. It is thus straightforward to implement in analytical or numerical applications involving eLG pulses.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Femtosecond laser pulse energy transfer induced by plasma grating due to filament interaction in air

We experimentally demonstrate the formation of a thin plasma grating lasted for several tens of picosecond induced by the strong interaction between two noncollinear femtosecond filaments in air. A time-delayed second-harmonic pulse propagating along one of the incident filaments is coupled and nonlinearly diffracted by the thin plasma grating, leading to an energy transfer to the other noncollinearly crossed femtosecond filament. The dependences of the plasma grating on the intensity ratios and relative polarizations between the input pulses are investigated.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2010

Persistent quantum interfering electron trajectories

The emission of above-ionization-threshold harmonics results from the recombination of two-electron wave packets 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, which arise from the frequency mixing of the harmonics and the driving laser field, an effect with consequences in cross-correlation pulse metrology approaches.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2010

Research and Development for Ultra-High Gradient Accelerator Structures

Research on the basic physics of high-gradient, high frequency accelerator structures and the associated RF/microwave technology are essential for the future of discovery science, medicine and biology, energy and environment, and national security. We will review the state-of-the-art for the development of high gradient linear accelerators. We will present the research activities aimed at exploring the basic physics phenomenon of RF breakdown. We present the experimental results of a true systematic study in which the surface processing, geometry, and materials of the structures have been varied, one parameter at a time. The breakdown rate or alternatively, the probability of breakdown/pulse/meter has been recorded for different operating parameters. These statistical data reveal a strong dependence of breakdown probability on surface magnetic field, or alternatively on surface pulsed heating. This is in contrast to the classical view of electric field dependence.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗