Xu Zhizhan

Second‐harmonic emission from laser‐plasma interactions

We have systematically investigated the second‐harmonic (2ω) emission spectrum from 1.06‐μm laser‐plasma interactions. Experimental data on the dependence of 2ω spectrum, especially its broadness and complexity, on laser irradiation intensity, incidence angle, and prepulse are presented. A theoretical model using linear mode conversion and parametric decay instability processes can qualitatively explain the experimental results.

Modification of plasma edge fluctuations using electrostatic probes in Keda Tokamak-5C

The experiments to characterize the modification of edge fluctuations using electrostatic probes have been performed on Keda Tokamak-5C (KT-5C) [World Survey of Activities in Controlled Fusion Research, Nuclear Fusion Special Supplement (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1991), p. 190]. The results show that the externally excited perturbation propagates in the direction of electron directional movement. The observed phenomena are mainly related to the electrons, and can be well explained by the proposed dynamic theory of the ballistic mode. The experimental correlation coefficient and the longitudinal dispersion relation are in good agreement with the proposed ballistic model.

Generation of an isolated sub-100 attosecond pulse in the water-window spectral region

We propose a scheme to generate isolated attosecond pulses in the water-window spectral region. Based on the numerical solutions of the single active electron model, we investigate high-order harmonic generation in helium atoms driven by a multi-cycle two-colour optical field synthesized by an intense 2000 nm, 20 fs pulse and its frequency-doubled pulse. When the latter is slightly detuned and properly phase shifted with respect to the fundamental laser pulse, an ultra-broad extreme ultraviolet supercontinuum with a spectral width of 130 eV can be generated in the 270–400 eV spectral regions. A supercontinuum from 280–340 eV in the water window can be selected to yield an isolated 67 attosecond pulse without employing any phase compensation. This water window coherent x-ray pulse with less than 100 attosecond duration is a potential tool for studying the ultrafast electronic dynamics of biological samples in water.

A Scaling Law of Photoionization in Ultrashort Pulses

By means of the numerical solution of time-dependent Schrodinger equation, we verify a scaling law of photoionization in ultrashort pulses. We find that for a given carrier-envelope phase and duration of the pulse, identical photoionizations are obtained provided that when the central frequency of the pulse is enlarged by k times, the atomic binding potential is enlarged by k times, and the laser intensity is enlarged by k3 times. The scaling law allows us to reach a significant control over direction of photoemission and offers exciting prospects of reaching similar physical processes in different interacting systems which constitutes a novel kind of coherent control.

Effects of spontaneously induced coherence on absorption of a ladder-type atom

This paper investigates the effects of spontaneously induced coherence on absorption properties in a nearly equispaced three-level ladder-type system driven by two coherent fields. It find that the absorption properties of this system with the probe field applied on the lower transition can be significantly modified if this coherence is optimized. In the case of small spontaneous decay rate in the upper excited state, it finds that such coherence does not destroy the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Nevertheless, the absorption peak on both sides of zero detuning and the linewidth of absorption line become larger and narrower than those in the case corresponding to the effects of spontaneously induced coherence; while in the case of large decay rate, it finds that, instead of EIT with low resonant absorption, a sharp absorption peak at resonance appears. That is, electromagnetically induced absorption in the nearly equispaced ladder-type system can occur due to such coherent effects.

Time-Evolution of X-Ray Emission Nonuniformity in Line-Shaped Laser Plasmas

The spatially and time resolved 2D images of x-ray emission of line-shaped Ti laser plasmas have been obtained with a pinhole transmission grating spectrometer coupled with a x-ray streak camera. The x-ray emission nonuniformity of the plasma is quantitatively analyzed using a perturbation spectrum analysis method. The results show that the nonuniformity has a minimum value at a time corresponding to the peak time of the pumping laser pulse, and increases after that. A brief discussion on the nonuniformity mechanism has also been presented.

Developments in laser wakefield accelerators: From single-stage to two-stage

Laser wakefield accelerators (LWFAs) are compact accelerators which can produce femtosecond high-energy electron beams on a much smaller scale than the conventional radiofrequency accelerators. It is attributed to their high acceleration gradient which is about 3 orders of magnitude larger than the traditional ones. The past decade has witnessed the major breakthroughs and progress in developing the laser wakfield accelerators. To achieve the LWFAs suitable for applications, more and more attention has been paid to optimize the LWFAs for high-quality electron beams. A single-staged LWFA does not favor generating controllable electron beams beyond 1 GeV since electron injection and acceleration are coupled and cannot be independently controlled. Staged LWFAs provide a promising route to overcome this disadvantage by decoupling injection from acceleration and thus the electron-beam quality as well as the stability can be greatly improved. This paper provides an overview of the physical conceptions of the LWFA, as well as the major breakthroughs and progress in developing LWFAs from single-stage to two-stage LWFAs.

Growth and Saturation of the Relativistic Harmonic Radiation

A series of coupling equations for the relativistic coherent harmonic generation is derived taking account of the coupling effect among the harmonic contents and plasmas wave. Using these equations, the growth and saturation of amplitude of the third harmonic wave is investigated. Results show that the coupling effect induces the saturation of harmonics, which is identical with ones of the Lagrangian description.

Carrier-envelope phase effects on high-harmonic generation driven by mid-infrared laser field

The influence of the carrier-envelope phase on high-harmonic generation is investigated, both experimentally and theoretically, for three different interaction gas media, driven by mid-infrared, few-cycle and CEP-stabilized laser pulses. Different patterns of harmonic spectra with varying CEP for the three interaction gas media are observed. Furthermore, in comparing our experiment results to the previous works driven by near-infrared laser pulses, different phenomena are found. Through numerical simulation, we find that for the two different kinds of driving fields, i.e. mid-infrared and near-infrared laser pulses, different kinds of electron trajectories contribute to the generation of high harmonics.

Semi-classical explanation for the dissociation control of H2+

A semi-classical model is utilized to explain the dissociation control of the hydrogen molecular ion (H2+). By analyzing the curve of the dissociation asymmetry parameter as a function of the time delay between the exciting and steering pulses, we find that the dissociation control is dependent not only on the peak intensity and direction of the electric field of the steering pulse, but also on the peak intensity of the exciting pulse.