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arXiv:1607.04570 · Physical Review A

Deterministic strong-field quantum control

Stefano M. Cavaletto, Z. Harman, Thomas Pfeifer, Christoph H. Keitel

Published Apr 17, 2017• 8 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Strong-field quantum-state control is investigated, taking advantage of the full---amplitude and phase---characterization of the interaction between matter and intense ultrashort pulses via transient-absorption spectroscopy. As an example, we apply the method to a nondegenerate $V$-type three-level system modeling atomic Rb, and use a sequence of intense delayed pulses, whose parameters are tailored to steer the system into a desired quantum state. We show how to experimentally enable this optimization by retrieving all quantum features of the light-matter interaction from observable spectra. This provides a full characterization of the action of strong fields on the atomic system, including the dependence upon possibly unknown pulse properties and atomic structures. Precision and robustness of the scheme are tested, in the presence of surrounding atomic levels influencing the system's dynamics.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.95.043413

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Scientific Reports•Jan 4, 2017•6 citations
Strong-field quantum-state control is investigated, taking advantage of the full---amplitude and phase---characterization of the interaction between matter and intense ultrashort pulses via transient-absorption spectroscopy. As an example, we apply the method to a nondegenerate VVV-type three-level system modeling atomic Rb, and use a sequence of intense delayed pulses, whose parameters are tailored to steer the system into a desired quantum state. We show how to experimentally enable this optimization by retrieving all quantum features of the light-matter interaction from observable spectra. This provides a full characterization of the action of strong fields on the atomic system, including the dependence upon possibly unknown pulse properties and atomic structures. Precision and robustness of the scheme are tested, in the presence of surrounding atomic levels influencing the system's dynamics.
The evolution of a V-type three-level system is studied, whose two resonances are coherently excited and coupled by two ultrashort laser pump and probe pulses, separated by a varying time delay. We relate the quantum dynamics of the excited multilevel system to the absorption spectrum of the transmitted probe pulse. In particular, by analyzing the quantum evolution of the system, we interpret how atomic phases are differently encoded in the time-delay-dependent spectral absorption profiles when the pump pulse either precedes or follows the probe pulse. This scheme is experimentally applied to atomic Rb, whose fine-structure-split 5s (2)S{1/2}→5p(2)P{1/2} and 5s(2)S_{1/2}→5p(2)P{3/2} transitions are driven by the combined action of a pump pulse of variable intensity and a delayed probe pulse. The provided understanding of the relationship between quantum phases and absorption spectra represents an important step towards full time-dependent phase reconstruction (quantum holography) of bound-state wave packets in strong-field light-matter interactions with atoms, molecules, and solids.
The quantum dynamics of a system of Rb atoms, modeled by a V-type three-level system interacting with intense probe and pump pulses, are studied. The time-delay-dependent transient-absorption spectrum of an intense probe pulse is thus predicted, when this is preceded or followed by a strong pump pulse. Numerical results are interpreted in terms of an analytical model, which allows us to quantify the oscillating features of the resulting transient-absorption spectra in terms of the atomic populations and phases generated by the intense pulses. Strong-field-induced phases and their influence on the resulting transient-absorption spectra are thereby investigated for different values of pump and probe intensities and frequencies, focusing on the atomic properties which are encoded in the absorption line shapes for positive and negative time delays.
The goal of this work is to study and understand dynamics of atomic systems interacting with strong fields. To this end, a method referred to as strong-field spectroscopy is used, which measures the absorption spectrum of atoms interacting with such fields. In the scope of this work, a technique which allows the simultaneous measurement of absorption spectra of attosecond pulses and their reference signal is developed, which significantly increases the sensitivity to absorption changes. Additionally, a reconstruction method is introduced which retrieves the time-dependent evolution of the dipole response of an atomic system directly from a single absorption spectrum. Strong-field spectroscopy combines these techniques to examine the nonlinear strong-field dynamics in atomic and molecular systems and is applied to study the strongly correlated doubly excited states in helium. Furthermore, a measurement approach is introduced which uses the interaction with a high-intensity laser pulse to impose a time gate on the evolution of the coherent response of a system, which has previously been excited by an ultrashort laser pulse. With this approach the buildup of resonance phenomena in a wide range of physical systems can be studied. As a first application, the time-dependent buildup of a Fano resonance as well as the buildup of a whole Rydberg series are investigated.
Based on the idea of reverse engineering, we design an optimal laser pulse to control strong-field multiphoton atomic transitions. Starting from the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation of the full system, we adiabatically eliminate the nonessential states and apply the rotating-wave approximation to arrive at an effective two-state representation that involves dynamic Stark shifts and multiphoton coupling. Solving this equation inversely for the field, we obtain an analytical laser pulse shape that is expected to induce the full system's evolution according to user-defined quantum pathways. In our procedure, the amplitude and phase of the laser pulse are engineered such that the dynamically shifted electronic states are resonantly coupled during the action of the pulse at each moment of time. As a result, the driven system evolves from an arbitrary initial population distribution to any desired final quantum state superposition at a predefined rate. The proposed scheme is demonstrated using the example of the $3s\ensuremath{\rightarrow}4s$ two-photon transition of atomic sodium. By solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation of the single-active electron with two different methods, either propagating time-dependent coefficients of many field-free states or directly propagating the three-dimensional electronic wave packet on a grid, we demonstrate the robustness as well as the limitations of the presented reverse engineering scheme.
Abstract The quantum dynamics of a system of Rb atoms, modeled by a V -type three-level system interacting with intense probe and pump pulses, are studied. The time-delay-dependent transient-absorption spectrum of an intense probe pulse is thus predicted, simulating pump-probe experiments in which this is preceded or followed by a strong pump pulse. Numerical results are interpreted in terms of an analytical model based on interaction operators , which quantify the transformation undergone by the system under the action of an intense pulse. The oscillating features of the resulting transient-absorption spectra, due to the coupling of several excited states, are thus interpreted in terms of the atomic population and phase changes imposed by the pump and probe pulses. Strong-field-induced phases and their influence on the resulting transient-absorption spectra are thereby investigated for different values of pump and probe intensities and frequencies, focusing on the atomic properties which are encoded in the absorption line shapes for positive and negative time delays.
The quantum dynamics of a V-type three-level system, whose two resonances are first excited by a weak probe pulse and subsequently modified by another strong one, is studied. The quantum dynamics of the multi-level system is closely related to the absorption spectrum of the transmitted probe pulse and its modification manifests itself as a modulation of the absorption line shape. Applying the dipole-control model, the modulation induced by the second strong pulse to the system's dynamics is quantified by eight intensity-dependent parameters, describing the self and inter-state contributions. The present study opens the route to control the quantum dynamics of multi-level systems and to quantify the quantum-control process.