Search Results (37)

High-order harmonic generation provides a powerful tool for probing ultrafast chemical dynamics, such as electron transfer, bond breaking, and molecular structural changes, with attosecond temporal resolution. The strong laser fields used in HHG can also directly influence chemical reaction pathways and rates, enabling coherent control of reaction selectivity. However, enhancing the efficiency of harmonic emission remains a critical challenge in ultrafast science. In this study, we investigate the effects of molecular size and orientation on HHG efficiency using time-dependent density functional theory simulations. By analyzing the linear molecules ${\mathrm{C}}_{18}{\mathrm{H}}_2$, ${\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_2$, and C₁₀H₂ under linearly polarized laser fields, we demonstrate that larger molecular sizes significantly enhance harmonic emission intensity. Our results reveal that ${\mathrm{C}}_{18}{\mathrm{H}}_2$, with its larger spatial dimensions, exhibits substantially higher harmonic intensity compared to smaller molecules like ${\mathrm{C}}_2{\mathrm{H}}_2$. This enhancement is further supported by examining charge redistribution and bond length changes during the HHG process. Additionally, we validate our findings with C₁₀H₂, a molecule of intermediate size, confirming the correlation between molecular size and harmonic efficiency. Full article

This study investigated the dose-dependent changes in the chemical composition of three dental ceramic materials—zirconia, lithium disilicate (LD), and VITA ENAMIC^® hybrid composite (VITA En)—following irradiation with an ultra-short femtosecond (fs) laser (800 nm, 30 fs, 1 kHz) in an ambient air environment using average laser power (76 mW) and scanning speeds (50, 100, and 200 mm/s), simulating dental treatment processes. The chemical composition of the ablated regions was analyzed using energy dispersive spectroscopy. All irradiated samples showed increased carbon content (by up to 42%) and reduced oxygen (by up to 33%). The observed increase in C content is likely attributed to a combination of surface reactions, adsorption of carbon from the ambient environment, and carbon deposition from the laser-induced plasma, all facilitated by the high-energy conditions created by fs-laser pulses. Scanning electron microscopy revealed ablation with progressive controlled melting and recrystallization, with an absence of pile-up features typically associated with significant thermal damage. These findings demonstrate that ultra-short fs-laser irradiation induces highly controlled, dose-dependent changes in the chemical composition and surface morphology of dental ceramic materials. Full article

In past years, optical lattices have been demonstrated as an excellent platform for making, understanding, and controlling quantum matters at nonlinear and fundamental quantum levels. Shrinking experimental observations include matter-wave gap solitons created in ultracold quantum degenerate gases, such as Bose–Einstein condensates with repulsive interaction. In this paper, we theoretically and numerically study the formation of one-dimensional gap soliton molecules and clusters in ultracold coherent atom ensembles under electromagnetically induced transparency conditions and trapped by an optical lattice. In numerics, both linear stability analysis and direct perturbed simulations are combined to identify the stability and instability of the localized gap modes, stressing the wide stability region within the first finite gap. The results predicted here may be confirmed in ultracold atom experiments, providing detailed insight into the higher-order localized gap modes of ultracold bosonic atoms under the quantum coherent effect called electromagnetically induced transparency. Full article

The chirped pulse amplification (CPA) systems based on transition-metal-ion-doped chalcogenide crystals are promising powerful ultrafast laser sources providing access to sub-TW laser pulses in the mid-IR region, which are highly relevant for essential scientific and technological tasks, including high-field physics and attosecond science. The only way to obtain high-peak power few-cycle pulses is through efficient laser amplification, maintaining the gain bandwidth ultrabroad. In this paper, we report on the approaches for mid-IR broadband laser pulse energy scaling and the broadening of the gain bandwidth of iron-doped chalcogenide crystals. The multi-pass chirped pulse amplification in the Fe:ZnSe crystal with 100 mJ level nanosecond optical pumping provided more than 10 mJ of output energy at 4.6 μm. The broadband amplification in the Fe:ZnS crystal in the vicinity of 3.7 μm supports a gain band of more than 300 nm (FWHM). Spectral synthesis combining Fe:ZnSe and Fe:CdSe gain media allows the increase in the gain band (~500 nm (FWHM)) compared to using a single active element, thus opening the route to direct few-cycle laser pulse generation in the prospective mid-IR spectral range. The features of the nonlinear response of carbon nanotubes in the mid-IR range are investigated, including photoinduced absorption under 4.6 μm excitation. The study intends to expand the capabilities and improve the output characteristics of high-power mid-IR laser systems. Full article

Perovskites have been recognized as a class of promising materials for optoelectronic devices. We intentionally include excessive Cs⁺ cations in precursors in the synthesis of perovskite CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals and investigate how the Cs⁺ cations influence the lattice strain in these perovskite nanocrystals. Upon light illumination, the lattice strain due to the addition of alkali metal Cs⁺ cations can be compensated by light–induced lattice expansion. When the Cs⁺ cation in precursors is about 10% excessive, the electron–phonon coupling strength can be reduced by about 70%, and the carrier cooling can be slowed down about 3.5 times in lead halide perovskite CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals. This work reveals a new understanding of the role of Cs⁺ cations, which take the A–site in ABX₃ perovskite and provide a new way to improve the performance of perovskites and their practical devices further. Full article

To mitigate the negative environmental effects of the overuse of conventional materials—such as cement—in soil improvement, sustainable engineering techniques need to be applied. The use of biopolymers as an alternative, environmentally friendly solution has received a great deal of attention recently. The application of lignin, a sustainable and ecofriendly biobased adhesive, to enhance soil mechanical properties has been investigated. The changes to engineering properties of lignin-infused soil relative to a lignin addition to soil at 0.5, 1, and 3.0 wt.% (including Atterberg limits, unconfined compression strength, consolidated undrained triaxial characteristics, and mechanical properties under wetting and drying cycles that mimic atmospheric conditions) have been studied. Our findings reveal that the soil’s physical and strength characteristics, including unconfined compressive strength and soil cohesion, were improved by adding lignin through the aggregated soil particle process. While the internal friction angle of the soil was slightly decreased, the lignin additive significantly increased soil cohesion; the addition of 3% lignin to the soil doubled the soil’s compressive strength and cohesion. Lignin-treated samples experienced less strength loss during wetting and drying cycles. After six repeated wetting and drying cycles, the strength of the 3% lignin-treated sample was twice that of the untreated sample. Soil treated with 3% lignin displayed the highest erosion resistance and minimal soil mass loss of ca. 10% under emulated atmospheric conditions. This study offers useful insights into the utilization of lignin biopolymer in practical engineering applications, such as road stabilization, slope reinforcement, and erosion prevention. Full article

Attosecond streaking provides an extremely high temporal resolution for characterizing light pulses and photoionization processes with attosecond (10⁻¹⁸ s) accuracy, which employs a laser as a streaking field to deflect electrons generated by photoionization. The current attosecond streaking requires a time delay scan between the attosecond pulses and streaking field with attosecond accuracy and a femtosecond range, which is difficult to realize real-time measurement. In this study, we theoretically propose a non-collinear attosecond streaking scheme without the time delay scan, enabling real-time and even the potential to perform single-shot attosecond pulse measurement. In the proposal, time-delay information is projected into longitudinal space, both horizontally and vertically, enabling attosecond pulse characterization with temporal-spatial coupling. From our calculation, down to 70 as pulses with pulse front and wavefront tilt are characterized with high accuracy. Our study not only provides a method toward real-time attosecond pulse measurement, but also an approach for attosecond pump-probe experiments without time delay scan. Full article

We propose to obtain kHz, 10s TW, femtosecond sources through optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) pumped by Yb:YAG thin disk lasers. The final amplifiers of the OPCPA are based on LGS (LiGaS₂) crystals with wide transparent range. To suppress the quantum defect for high efficiency, the final amplifiers are designed such that the wavelength of the signal is set very close to 1.03 μm, while the idler spectra span from 4–8 μm. Multiple crystals with different phase-matching configuration can be employed for the amplification of different spectral regions to support broadband pulse amplification. According to the numerical simulations, the pulse duration from Yb:YAG lasers can be shortened to 20–30 fs pulse with efficiency beyond 60%. This technique is energy scalable with the size of the LGS crystal size and can support a 26 TW pulse with current available LGS. The output pulses are ideal drivers for secondary light and particle source generation. Full article

The necessary application of sustainable engineering methodologies has been increasing as the number of environmental hazards caused by global warming is on the rise. Cement as a traditional common additive for soil improvement has several negative impacts on the environment. This led to an urge for alternative sustainable solutions. The use of biopolymers as environmentally friendly materials is one of the potential options. This study aims to investigate the effect of xanthan gum biopolymer as a sustainable solution for soil properties enhancement. The Atterberg limits, unconfined compression, CU and UU triaxial tests were performed to examine the effect of xanthan gum on the soil strength and plasticity. Additionally, the durability of biopolymer-treated and untreated soils under wetting and drying cycles and moisture susceptibility were assessed. The results showed that the compressive strength of soil increased by increasing the xanthan gum concentration and curing time and reached its peak value after a specific curing time. The addition of xanthan gum resulted in significant improvement in soil cohesion and caused a reduction in the internal friction angle of the soil. While increasing the number of wetting/drying cycles decreased the soil strength, the biopolymer-treated soil exhibited higher soil strength than the untreated soil. This study provides valuable experiences in the use of xanthan gum biopolymer in practical engineering applications. Full article

Free-electron lasers (FEL), with their ultrashort pulses, ultrahigh intensities, and high repetition rates at short wavelength, have provided new approaches to Atomic and Molecular Optical Science. One such approach is following the birth of a photo electron to observe ion dynamics on an ultrafast timescale. Such an approach presents the opportunity to decipher the photon-initiated structural dynamics of an isolated atomic and molecular species. It is a fundamental step towards understanding single- and non-linear multi-photon processes and coherent electron dynamics in atoms and molecules, ultimately leading to coherent control following FEL research breakthroughs in pulse shaping and polarization control. A key aspect for exploring photoinduced quantum phenomena is visualizing the collective motion of electrons and nuclei in a single reaction process, as dynamics in atoms/ions proceed at femtosecond (10${}^{-15}$ s) timescales while electronic dynamics take place in the attosecond timescale (10${}^{-18}$ s). Here, we report on the design of a Dynamic Reaction Microscope (DREAM) endstation located at the second interaction point of the Time-Resolved Molecular and Optical (TMO) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) capable of following the photon–matter interactions by detecting ions and electrons in coincidence. The DREAM endstation takes advantage of the pulse properties and high repetition rate of LCLS-II to perform gas-phase soft X-ray experiments in a wide spectrum of scientific domains. With its design ability to detect multi-ions and electrons in coincidence while operating in step with the high repetition rate of LCLS-II, the DREAM endstation takes advantage of the inherent momentum conservation of reaction product ions with participating electrons to reconstruct the original X-ray photon–matter interactions. In this report, we outline in detail the design of the DREAM endstation and its functionality, with scientific opportunities enabled by this state-of-the-art instrument. Full article

The intensity fluctuation induced spectral phase-change of the laser pulse during nonlinear spectral broadening is theoretically investigated. The oscillation of the phase-change curves at the central part of the spectra is explained by the two-wave interference model, while the bending of the phase-change curves at the wings is considered to originate from the intensity dependent dispersion caused by the self-steepening (SST) effect. Both of them can degrade carrier envelop phase (CEP) stability after an intra-pulse difference frequency generation (IP-DFG) setup. We propose an effective approach to suppress the intensity dependent dispersion with intermediate compression. Verified by numerically simulations, well-phased spectral components at the wings can be obtained, which is highly beneficial for CEP stable pulse generation with noisy input. Full article

The theory of one-photon ionization and two-photon above-threshold ionization is formulated for applications to heavy atoms in attosecond science by using Dirac–Fock formalism. A direct comparison of Wigner–Smith–Eisenbud delays for photoionization is made with delays from the Reconstruction of Attosecond Beating By Interference of Two-photon Transitions (RABBIT) method. Photoionization by an attosecond pulse train, consisting of monochromatic fields in the extreme ultraviolet range, is computed with many-body effects at the level of the relativistic random phase approximation (RRPA). Subsequent absorption and emission processes of infrared laser photons in RABBIT are evaluated by using static ionic potentials as well as asymptotic properties of relativistic Coulomb functions. As expected, light elements, such as argon, show negligible relativistic effects, whereas heavier elements, such a krypton and xenon, exhibit delays that depend on the fine-structure of the ionic target. The relativistic effects are notably close to ionization thresholds and Cooper minima with differences in fine-structure delays predicted to be as large as tens of attoseconds. The separability of relativistic RABBIT delays into a Wigner–Smith–Eisenbud delay and a universal continuum–continuum delay is studied with reasonable separability found for photoelectrons emitted along the laser polarization axis in agreement with prior non-relativistic results. Full article

Mid-infrared (MIR) ultrashort laser pulses have a wide range of applications in the fields of environmental monitoring, laser medicine, food quality control, strong-field physics, attosecond science, and some other aspects. Recent years have seen great developments in MIR laser technologies. Traditional solid-state and fiber lasers focus on the research of the short-wavelength MIR region. However, due to the limitation of the gain medium, they still cannot cover the long-wavelength region from 8 to 20 µm. This paper summarizes the developments of 8–20 μm MIR ultrafast laser generation via difference frequency generation (DFG) and reviews related theoretical models. Finally, the feasibility of MIR power scaling by nonlinear-amplification DFG and methods for measuring the power of DFG-based MIR are analyzed from the author’s perspective. Full article

Ultrafast mid-infrared (mid-IR) lasers with a high pulse repetition rate are in great demand in various fields, including attosecond science and strong-field physics. Due to the lack of suitable mid-IR laser gain medium, optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs) are used to generate an ultrafast mid-IR laser. However, the efficiency of OPA is sensitive to phase mismatches induced by wavelength and temperature deviations from the preset points, which thus limits the pulse duration and the average power of the mid-IR laser. Here, we exploited a noncollinear phase-matching configuration to achieve simultaneously wavelength- and temperature-insensitive mid-IR OPA with a LiGaS₂ crystal. The noncollinearity can cancel the first-order dependence of phase matching on both wavelength and temperature. Benefitting from the thermal property of the LiGaS₂ crystal, some collinear phase-matching solutions derived from the first-order and even third-order wavelength insensitivity have comparatively large temperature bandwidths and can be regarded as approximate solutions with simultaneous wavelength and temperature insensitivity. These simultaneously wavelength- and temperature-insensitive phase-matching designs are verified through numerical simulations in order to generate few-cycle, high-power mid-IR pulses. Full article

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) is a fundamental process which can be simplified as the production of high energetic photons from a material subjected to a strong driving laser field. This highly nonlinear optical process contains rich information concerning the electron structure and dynamics of matter, for instance, gases, solids and liquids. Moreover, the HHG from solids has recently attracted the attention of both attosecond science and condensed matter physicists, since the HHG spectra can carry information of electron-hole dynamics in bands and inter- and intra-band current dynamics. In this paper, we study the effect of interlayer coupling and symmetry in two-dimensional (2D) material by analyzing high-order harmonic generation from monolayer and two differently stacked bilayer hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs). These simulations reveal that high-order harmonic emission patterns strongly depend on crystal inversion symmetry (IS), rotation symmetry and interlayer coupling. Full article