K.S.E. Eikema

A source of 2 terawatt, 2.7 cycle laser pulses based on noncollinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

We demonstrate a noncollinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier system that produces 7.6 fs pulses with a peak power of 2 terawatt at 30 Hz repetition rate. Using an ultra-broadband Ti:Sapphire seed oscillator and grating-based stretching and compression combined with an LCD phase-shaper, we amplify a 310 nm wide spectrum with a total gain of 3x10(7), and compress it within 5% of its Fourier limit. The total integrated parametric fluorescence is kept below 0.2%, leading to a pre-pulse contrast of 2 x10(-8) on picosecond timescales.

Determination of the ionization and dissociation energies of the hydrogen molecule.

The transition wave number from the EF (1)Sigma(g)(+)(v = 0, N = 1) energy level of ortho-H(2) to the 54p1(1)(0) Rydberg state below the X(+) (2)Sigma(g)(+)(v(+) = 0, N(+) = 1) ground state of ortho-H(2)(+) has been measured to be 25,209.99756 +/- (0.00022)(statistical) +/- (0.00007)(systematic) cm(-1). Combining this result with previous experimental and theoretical results for other energy level intervals, the ionization and dissociation energies of the hydrogen molecule have been determined to be 124,417.49113(37) and 36,118.06962(37) cm(-1), respectively, which represents a precision improvement over previous experimental and theoretical results by more than one order of magnitude. The new value of the ionization energy can be regarded as the most precise and accurate experimental result of this quantity, whereas the dissociation energy is a hybrid experimental-theoretical determination.

Generation of few-cycle terawatt light pulses using optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

We demonstrate the generation of 9.8+/-0.3 fs laser pulses with a peak power exceeding one terawatt at 30 Hz repetition rate, using optical parametric chirped pulse amplification. The amplifier is pumped by 140 mJ, 60 ps pulses at 532 nm, and amplifies seed pulses from a Ti:Sapphire oscillator to 23 mJ/pulse, resulting in 10.5 mJ/pulse after compression while amplified fluorescence is kept below 1%. We employ grating-based stretching and compression in combination with an LCD phase-shaper, allowing compression close to the Fourier limit of 9.3 fs.

Extreme Ultraviolet Frequency Comb Metrology

The remarkable precision of frequency-comb (FC) lasers is transferred to the extreme ultraviolet (XUV, wavelengths shorter than 100 nm), a frequency region previously not accessible to these devices. A frequency comb at XUV wavelengths near 51 nm is generated by amplification and coherent up-conversion of a pair of pulses originating from a near-infrared femtosecond FC laser. The phase coherence of the source in the XUV is demonstrated using helium atoms as a ruler and phase detector. Signals in the form of stable Ramsey-like fringes with high contrast are observed when the FC laser is scanned over P states of helium, from which the absolute transition frequency in the XUV can be extracted. This procedure yields a (4)He ionization energy at h×5 945 204 212(6)  MHz, improved by nearly an order of magnitude in accuracy, thus challenging QED calculations of this two-electron system.

Fundamental Vibration of Molecular Hydrogen

The fundamental ground tone vibration of H(2), HD, and D(2) is determined to an accuracy of 2×10(-4) cm(-1) from Doppler-free laser spectroscopy in the collisionless environment of a molecular beam. This rotationless vibrational splitting is derived from the combination difference between electronic excitation from the X(1)Σ(g)(+), v=0, and v=1 levels to a common EF(1)Σ(g)(+), v=0 level. Agreement within 1σ between the experimental result and a full ab initio calculation provides a stringent test of quantum electrodynamics in a chemically bound system.

Ultrafast Optical Parametric Chirped-Pulse Amplification

In recent years, optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) has emerged as a powerful tool for the generation of ultrashort pulses with extreme peak intensity. It has enabled the generation of phase-controlled few-cycle pulses in widely different parts of the spectrum. For the near-infrared spectral range, OPCPA is becoming an interesting alternative to conventional Ti:Sapphire-based laser technology for various applications. In this paper, we discuss the physics behind OPCPA, as well as the practical design considerations for the development of high-intensity, phase-stable few-cycle OPCPA systems. Also, we review the experimental achievements in ultrafast OPCPA systems to date.

Widely-tunable mid-infrared frequency comb source based on difference frequency generation

We report on a mid-IR frequency comb source of unprecedented tunability covering the entire 3-10 μm molecular fingerprint region. The system is based on difference frequency generation in a GaSe crystal pumped by a 151 MHz Yb:fiber frequency comb. The process was seeded with Raman-shifted solitons generated in a highly nonlinear suspended-core fiber with the same source. Average powers up to 1.5 mW were achieved at the 4.7 μm wavelength.

High-power parametric amplification of 11.8-fs laser pulses with carrier-envelope phase control

Phase-stable parametric chirped-pulse amplification of ultrashort pulses from a carrier-envelope phase-stabilized mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator (11.0 fs) to 0.25 mJ/pulse at 1 kHz is demonstrated. Compression with a grating compressor and a LCD shaper yields near-Fourier-limited 11.8-fs pulses with an energy of 0.12 mJ. The amplifier is pumped by 532-nm pulses from a synchronized mode-locked laser, Nd:YAG amplifier system. This approach is shown to be promising for the next generation of ultrafast amplifiers aimed at producing terawatt-level phase-controlled few-cycle laser pulses.

Bounds on fifth forces from precision measurements on molecules

ioncanbeinterpretedintermsofconstraintsonpossiblefifth-forceinteractions.Wherethehydrogen atom is a probe for yet unknown lepton-hadron interactions, and the helium atom is sensitiveforlepton-lepton interactions, molecules open the domain to search for additional long-range hadron-hadronforces. First principles calculations in the framework of quantum electrodynamics have now advanced tothe level that hydrogen molecules and hydrogen molecular ions have become calculable systems, makingthemasearchgroundforfifthforces.Followingaphenomenologicaltreatmentofunknownhadron-hadroninteractions written in terms of a Yukawapotential of the form V

First positron cooling of antiprotons.

Positrons are used to cool antiprotons for the first time. The oppositely charged positrons and antiprotons are first simultaneously accumulated in separate Penning trap volumes, and then are spatially merged in a nested Penning trap. The antiprotons cool until they reach a low relative velocity with respect to the cold positrons, the situation expected to be optimal for the production of cold antihydrogen.  2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.