Inducing elliptically polarized high-order harmonics from aligned molecules with linearly polarized femtosecond pulses

Journal Article · Fri Jan 15 04:00:00 EST 2010 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVA.81.013409· OSTI ID:21388751

Etches, Adam; Madsen, Christian Bruun; Madsen, Lars Bojer ^[1]

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1. Lundbeck Foundation Theoretical Center for Quantum System Research, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C (Denmark)

A recent paper reported elliptically polarized high-order harmonics from aligned N{sub 2} using a linearly polarized driving field [X. Zhou et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 073902 (2009)]. This observation cannot be explained in the standard treatment of the Lewenstein model and has been ascribed to many-electron effects or the influence of the Coulomb force on the continuum electron. We show that nonvanishing ellipticity naturally appears within the Lewenstein model when using a multicenter stationary-phase method for treating the dynamics of the continuum electron. The reason for this is the appearance of additional contributions, which can be interpreted as quantum orbits in which the active electron is ionized at one atomic center within the molecule and recombines at another. The associated exchange harmonics are responsible for the nonvanishing ellipticity and result from a correlation between the ionization site and the recombination site in high-order harmonic generation.

• OSTI ID: 21388751
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 81; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
CORRELATIONS
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
FERMIONS
FREQUENCY MIXING
HARMONIC GENERATION
HARMONICS
IONIZATION
LEPTONS
MOLECULES
OSCILLATIONS
PULSES
RECOMBINATION