Coherent population transfer with chirped few-cycle laser pulses in an excited-doublet four-level system

The behavior of population transfer in an excited-doublet four-level system driven by linear polarized few-cycle ultrashort laser pulses is investigated numerically. It is shown that almost complete population transfer can be achieved even when the adiabatic criterion is not fulfilled. Moreover, the robustness of this scheme in terms of the Rabi frequencies and chirp rates of the pulses is explored.

Imaging properties of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscope

The coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscope with the combination of confocal and CARS techniques is a remarkable alternative for imaging chemical or biological specimens that neither fluoresce nor tolerate labelling. CARS is a nonlinear optical process, the imaging properties of CARS microscopy will be very different from the conventional confocal microscope. In this paper, the intensity distribution and the polarization property of the optical field near the focus was calculated. By using the Green function, the precise analytic solution to the wave equation of a Hertzian dipole source was obtained. We found that the intensity distributions vary considerably with the different experimental configurations and the different specimen shapes. So the conventional description of microscope (e.g. the point spread function) will fail to describe the imaging properties of the CARS microscope.

The intensity distributions of collected signals in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy with the combining of confocal and CARS techniques is a remarkable alternative for imaging chemical or biological specimens that neither fluoresce nor tolerate labeling. The CARS is a nonlinear optical process, the imaging properties of CARS microscopy will be very different from the conventional confocal microscopy. In this paper, we calculated the propagation of CARS signals by using the wave equation in medium and the slowly varying envelope approximation (SVEA), and find that the intensity angular distributions vary considerably with the different experimental configurations and the different specimen shapes. So the conventional description of microscopy (e.g.. the point spread function) will fail to descript the imaging properties of CARS microscopy. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Creation of arbitrary coherent superposition states in four-level systems

Using the technique of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage, we propose schemes for creating arbi- trary coherent superposition states of atoms in four-level systems: a A-type system with twofold final states and a four-level ladder system. With the use of a control field, arbitrary coherent superposition states are created without the condition of multiphoton resonance. Suitable manipulation of detunings and the control field can create either a single state or any superposition states desired. (c) 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.

Laser-driven coherent betatron oscillation in a laser-wakefield cavity

The origin of beam disparity in emittance and betatron oscillation orbits, in and out of the polarization plane of the drive laser of laser-plasma accelerators, is explained in terms of betatron oscillations driven by the laser field. As trapped electrons accelerate, they move forward and interact with the laser pulse. For the bubble regime, a simple model is presented to describe this interaction in terms of a harmonic oscillator with a driving force from the laser and a restoring force from the plasma wake field. The resulting beam oscillations in the polarization plane, with period approximately the wavelength of the driving laser, increase emittance in that plane and cause microbunching of the beam. These effects are observed directly in 3D particle-in-cell simulations.

Coherent linking of periodic nano-ripples on a ZnO crystal surface induced by femtosecond laser pulses

We demonstrate the coherent linking of periodic nano-ripples formed on the surface of ZnO crystals induced by femtosecond laser pulses. By adjusting the distance between two laser scanning zones, the periodic nano-ripples induced by two separated laser writing processes can be coherently linked and the ZnO nanograting with much longer grooves is therefore produced. The length limitation of this kind of nanograting previously set by the laser focus size is thus overcome. The micro-Raman mapping technique is used to evaluate the quality of coherent linking, and the underlying physics is discussed. The demonstrated scheme is promising for producing large-size self-organized nanogratings induced by femtosecond laser pulses.

Coherent population accumulations of multiphoton transitions induced by an ultrashort pulse train in polar molecules

Coherent population accumulations of multiphoton transitions induced by an ultrashort pulse train in a two-level polar molecule are investigated theoretically by solving the density-matrix equations without invoking any of the standard approximations. It is shown due to the effects of permanent dipole moments, that the population accumulation of multiphoton transitions can be obtained in the polar molecule. Moreover, the population accumulations depend crucially on the relative phase between two sequential pulses, and the period in which the maximum population accumulation occurs is 2 pi/N in N-photon transitions.

Coherent enhancement of broadband frequency up-conversion in BBO crystal by shaping femtosecond laser pulses

An optimal feedback control of broadband frequency up-conversion in BBO crystal is experimentally demonstrated by shaping femto-second laser pulses based on genetic algorithm, and the frequency up-conversion efficiency can be enhanced by similar to 16%. SPIDER results show that the optimal laser pulses have shorter pulse-width with the little negative chirp than the original pulse with the little positive chirp. By modulating the fundamental spectral phase with periodic square distribution on SLM-256, the frequency up-conversion can be effectively controlled by the factor of about 17%. The experimental results indicate that the broadband frequency up-conversion efficiency is related to both of second harmonic generation (SHG) and sum frequency generation (SFG), where the former depends on the fundamental pulse intensity, and the latter depends on not only the fundamental pulse intensity but also the fundamental pulse spectral phase. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phase imaging with partially coherent x rays

X-ray phase imaging with illumination by a partially coherent source with a setup similar to in-line holography is considered. Using the optical transform function, we consider the effects of partial coherence on this x-ray phase imaging for a weak phase object. The optimal contrast and the resolution of phase imaging are analyzed. As the coherence decreases, the imaging contrast and the optimal contrast frequency decrease, and the resolution degrades. It is shown that this contrast-enhanced phase-imaging method can be regarded as a linear bandpass filter and that the bandwidth and the image contrast are changeable. The frequency property of the imaging system can be improved if an incoherent x-ray source with the proper shape is used. (C) 1999 Optical Society of America.

Quantum interference effects of two coherent population trapping states on the atomic spectral lines of a F-e=0 -> F-g=1 transition

We investigate the fluorescence spectrum in a nearly degenerate atomic system of a F-e = 0 -> F-g = 1 transition by analytically solving Schrodinger equations. An ultranarrow fluorescence spectral line in between the two coherent population trapping windows has been found. Our analytic solutions clearly show the origin of the ultranarrow spectral line. Due to quantum interference effects between two coherent population trapping states, the width and intensity of the central spectral line can be controlled by an external magnetic field. Such an effect may be used to detect a magnetic field.