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    Population difference gratings created on vibrational transitions by nonoverlapping subcycle THz pulses
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2021) Arkhipov, Rostislav; Pakhomov, Anton; Arkhipov, Mikhail; Babushkin, Ihar; Demircan, Ayhan; Morgner, Uwe; Rosanov, Nikolay
    We study theoretically a possibility of creation and ultrafast control (erasing, spatial frequency multiplication) of population density gratings in a multi-level resonant medium having a resonance transition frequency in the THz range. These gratings are produced by subcycle THz pulses coherently interacting with a nonlinear medium, without any need for pulses to overlap, thereby utilizing an indirect pulse interaction via an induced coherent polarization grating. High values of dipole moments of the transitions in the THz range facilitate low field strength of the needed THz excitation. Our results clearly show this possibility in multi-level resonant media. Our theoretical approach is based on an approximate analytical solution of time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) using perturbation theory. Remarkably, as we show here, quasi-unipolar subcycle pulses allow more efficient excitation of higher quantum levels, leading to gratings with a stronger modulation depth. Numerical simulations, performed for THz resonances of the H20 molecule using Bloch equations for density matrix elements, are in agreement with analytical results in the perturbative regime. In the strong-field non-perturbative regime, the spatial shape of the gratings becomes non-harmonic. A possibility of THz radiation control using such gratings is discussed. The predicted phenomena open novel avenues in THz spectroscopy of molecules with unipolar and quasi-unipolar THz light bursts and allow for better control of ultra-short THz pulses.
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    Elliptically polarized high-harmonic radiation for production of isolated attosecond pulses
    ([London] : Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature, 2021) Bengs, Ulrich; Zhavoronkov, Nickolai
    Circularly polarized attosecond pulses are powerful tool to study chiral light-matter interaction via chiral electron dynamics. However, access to isolated circularly polarized attosecond pulses enabling straightforward interpretation of measurements, still remains a challenge. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the generation of highly elliptically polarized high-harmonics in a two-color, bi-circular, collinear laser field. The intensity and shape of the combined few-cycle driving radiation is optimized to produce a broadband continuum with enhanced spectral chirality in the range of 15-55 eV supporting the generation of isolated attosecond pulses with duration down to 150 as. We apply spectrally resolved polarimetry to determine the full Stokes vector of different spectral components of the continuum, yielding a homogenous helicity distribution with ellipticity in the range of 0.8-0.95 and a negligible unpolarized content.