Xiaochun Ge

Laser filamentation-induced condensation and snow formation in a cloud chamber

Using 1 kHz, 9 mJ femtosecond laser pulses, we demonstrate laser-filamentation-induced spectacular snow formation in a cloud chamber. An intense updraft of warm moist air is generated owing to the continuous heating by the high-repetition filamentation. As it encounters the cold air above, water condensation and large-sized particles spread unevenly across the whole cloud chamber via convection and cyclone like action on a macroscopic scale. This indicates that high-repetition filamentation plays a significant role in macroscopic laser-induced water condensation and snow formation.

Generation of 5 fs, 0.7 mJ pulses at 1 kHz through cascade filamentation

Two-cycle optical pulses with duration of 5 fs and energy of 0.7 mJ have been generated at 1 kHz by compressing the 38 fs laser pulses from a carrier-envelope phase (CEP) controlled Ti:sapphire laser system through a cascade filamentation compression technique. A simple and effective method is developed to suppress multiple filament formation and stabilize a single filament by inserting a soft aperture with an appropriate diameter into the driving laser beam prior to focusing, resulting in an excellent compressed beam quality. The good beam quality and potentially higher peak power make this ultrashort laser pulse source a significant tool for high-field physics applications.

Laser filamentation induced air-flow motion in a diffusion cloud chamber.

We numerically simulated the air-flow motion in a diffusion cloud chamber induced by femtosecond laser filaments for different chopping rates. A two dimensional model was employed, where the laser filaments were treated as a heat flux source. The simulated patterns of flow fields and maximum velocity of updraft compare well with the experimental results for the chopping rates of 1, 5, 15 and 150 Hz. A quantitative inconsistency appears between simulated and experimental maximum velocity of updraft for 1 kHz repetition rate although a similar pattern of flow field is obtained, and the possible reasons were analyzed. Based on the present simulated results, the experimental observation of more water condensation/snow at higher chopping rate can be explained. These results indicate that the specific way of laser filament heating plays a significant role in the laser-induced motion of air flow, and at the same time, our previous conclusion of air flow having an important effect on water condensation/snow is confirmed.

Selective generation of an intense single harmonic from a long gas cell with loosely focusing optics based on a three-color laser field

The selective generation of an intense single harmonic has been experimentally achieved in argon from a long gas cell with loosely focusing optics using a three-color laser field. When compared with the single harmonic emission from a continuous gas jet, both the intensity and the purity of the selected single harmonic emission from the long gas cell show dramatic improvements; the peak intensity is more intense by as much as 1–2 orders of magnitude, while the contrast ratio (i.e., the spectral purity) is simultaneously increased by several times. The underlying physics of this enhancement can be explained using the strong field approximation model with the propagation effect.

Effect of nuclear motion on spectral broadening of high-order harmonic generation.

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in molecular targets is experimentally investigated in order to reveal the role of the nuclear motion played in the harmonic generation process. An obvious broadening in the harmonic spectrum from the H2 molecule is observed in comparison with the harmonic spectrum generated from other molecules with relatively heavy nuclei. We also find that the harmonic yield from the H2 molecule is much weaker than the yield from those gas targets with the similar ionization potentials, such as Ar atom and N2 molecule. The yield suppression and the spectrum broadening of HHG can be attributed to the vibrational motion of nuclear induced by the driving laser pulse. Moreover, the one-dimensional (1D) time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) with the non-Born-Oppenheimer (NBO) treatment is numerically solved to provide a theoretical support to our explanation.

Enhanced high-order harmonic generation from spatially prepared filamentation in argon

We experimentally demonstrate enhanced high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from spatially prepared filamentation in Argon. Upon shifting the focus position of an elliptically polarized laser pulse over the filament induced by a linearly polarized laser pulse, an obvious enhancement of harmonic yield by nearly one order of magnitude is observed. The result could be interpreted in terms of the double contributions from both the excited states of target atom and the phase-matching effect of harmonic beam. In contrast to the enhancement phenomena, an obvious suppression of harmonic yield is also presented, which could be attributed to both the ground-state depletion and the plasma effect.

CEP-controlled supercontinuum generation during filamentation with mid-infrared laser pulse

With carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilized mid-infrared (MIR) laser pulse, the CEP-controlled supercontinuum generation can be distinctly observed in a very small distance range when the focus of the laser pulse closes to the exit surface of the fused silica (FS). This CEP effect will be gradually weakened and finally disappears if the laser focus moves out of this range. With numerical simulation, we find that although the CEP effect starts from the tunneling ionization of the electron, it can be observed only when the supercontinuum mainly comes from the self-phase modulation (SPM) and self-steepening of the laser pulse and too much electrons will make it ambiguous.

Observation of CEP effect via filamentation in transparent solids

We report on the first direct observation of carrier-envelope-phase (CEP) effect during the interaction between few-cycle laser pulses and bulk solid materials. Using 2-cycle mid-infrared laser pulses with stabilized CEP, the CEP effect of tunneling ionization during the laser filamentation in a fused silica is revealed. The phase variation of the accompanying supercontinuum (SC) emission with filamentation at different CEPs of laser pulses can be measured by means of spectral interference technique, as a direct manifestation of the strong field tunneling ionization dynamics in transparent solids.

Energy transfer between few-cycle laser filaments in air

We report on the energy exchange between two filaments generated by few-cycle mid-infrared laser in air. The direction of energy transfer vs the relative time delay is demonstrated distinctly as oscillations with a period of optical cycle. In addition, benefitting from the broadband spectrum of few-cycle laser pulses, we confirm an unreported fine spectral structure of energy transfer when the relative time delay is changed. The simulation results obtained by using a generalized two-beam coupling model agree well with the experimental results. A simple analytical expression has been deduced to explain the fine structure of energy transfer.

Frequency modulation of high-order harmonic generation in an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field.

We have experimentally investigated the frequency modulation of high-order harmonics in an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field consisting of a mid-infrared 1800nm fundamental pulse and its second harmonic pulse. It is demonstrated that the high harmonic spectra can be fine-tuned as we slightly change the relative delay of the two-color laser pulses. By analyzing the relative frequency shift of each harmonic at different two-color delays, the nonadiabatic spectral shift induced by the rapid variation of the intensity-dependent intrinsic dipole phase can be distinguished from the blueshift induced by the change of the refractive index during self-phase modulation (SPM). Our comprehensive analysis shows that the frequency modulation pattern is a reflection of the average emission time of high-order harmonic generation (HHG), thus offering a simple method to fine-tune the spectra of the harmonics on a sub-cycle time scale.