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Journal of Contemporary Physics (Armenian Academy of Sciences)

Small-area ultrashort pulse propagation through a three-level medium

M. H. Hovhannisyan

Published Aug 29, 2013• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Propagation of an ultrashort, small-area (circularly polarized) pulse through a gas medium of three-level atoms near one-photon resonance is studied. The expression for the propagating pulse shape is obtained within the rotating wave and dipole approximations. Results are compared, both analytically and numerically, with those for two-level model. Sinusoidal and Gaussian shapes of input pulses are compared, and a high sensitivity of modulation of the light pulse for envelope to its input shape is revealed.

DOI
10.3103/s1068337213050022

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Propagation of an ultrashort, small-area (circularly polarized) pulse through a gas medium of three-level atoms near one-photon resonance is studied. The expression for the propagating pulse shape is obtained within the rotating wave and dipole approximations. Results are compared, both analytically and numerically, with those for two-level model. Sinusoidal and Gaussian shapes of input pulses are compared, and a high sensitivity of modulation of the light pulse for envelope to its input shape is revealed.
Coherent propagation of a circularly polarized pulse which is two-photon quasi-resonant with a medium of multi-level atoms is considered in the adiabatic following limit. The relevant pair of non-linear coupled partial differential equations are solved exactly for arbitrary pulse shapes. The development of the envelope and the phase of the pulse as it propagates through the medium is described analytically. Perturbation theoretical results are shown to apply only for small intensity or small distance of propagation or both. Qualitatively different results apply for higher intensities and longer distances of propagation. These include strong self-phase-modulation effects as well as reshaping of the pulse envelope.
We solve the problem of ultrashort pulse propagation in a two-level medium beyond the rotating-wave (RWA) and slowly varying-envelope approximations. The method of solution is based on the Maxwell-Bloch equations represented in the form that allows one to switch between RWA and general (non-RWA) cases in the framework of a single numerical algorithm. Using this method, the effect of a subcycle pulse (containing less than a single period of field oscillations) on the two-level medium was analyzed. It is shown that for such short pulses, the clear breakdown of the area theorem occurs for the pulses of large enough area. Moreover, deviations from the area theorem appear to be strongly dependent on the pulse shape that cannot be observed for longer few-cycle pulses.
Propagation and amplification of an ultrashort laser pulse in a two-level medium is numerically investigated with the use of the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) procedure simultaneously solving Maxwell and Schrodinger equations with no assumptions characteristic of slowly varying envelope approximation. Comparison of the results of FDTD numerical simulations with the predictions of the pulse area theorem has demonstrated that the developed numerical procedure provides an adequate description of pulse evolution in a two-level medium. Amplification of ultrashort light pulses in a two-level medium is analyzed. Two methods of improving the gain of ultrashort pulses in a two-level medium by modulating the spatial distribution of dipole moments of resonant transitions and using initially chirped frequency-detuned pulses are explored.
The propagation of ultrashort x-ray pulses through a resonant attenuating two-level atom medium is investigated on the basis of the temporal point-source (the Green-function) formalism. A general case of the small-area pulse (SAP) approximation of a traveling coherent wave is considered. The patterns of the SAP envelope E(t,z) and energy U(z) evolution within the medium are calculated in the cases of incident Lorentzian and exponential pulses and their dependence on the temporal bandwidth ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathrm{band}}$ in comparison with the total dissipative relaxation time (lifetime) T2{\mathrm{T}}_{2}T2​ . It is shown that if ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathrm{band}}$ is the same order or smaller than T2{\mathrm{T}}_{2}T2​ , the reshaping (oscillations) of the pulse envelope and/or low energy-loss effects occur in accord with the general conclusions pointed out by Crisp [Phys. Rev. A 1, 1604 (1970)] in the case of the SAP for coherent light traveling through a resonant medium. The experimental conditions for the observation of penetration effects of the SAP of x rays are discussed. Based on the theoretical study, it is found that an ultrashort x-ray pulse emitted by an ultrashort laser-produced plasma propagates through thin resonant medium foils with low energy loss.
This article presents a study of the propagation of small-area pulses of coherent light through matter. It is found that the small-area pulses exactly obey an area theorem which, in the case of an attenuating medium, requires that the pulse area decay to zero exponentially with increasing distance of propagation. This, however, does not necessarily imply that the pulse energy decays exponentially. Instead, it is found that pulses of duration comparable to or shorter than the transverse relaxation time of the medium T2{T}_{2}T2​ (including both homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening) propagate with low energy loss. The results are explained in terms of simple physical arguments which indicate that the pulse envelope should oscillate between positive and negative values, causing the area to decrease without a comparable decrease in the pulse energy. Analytic solutions are presented for the case of a pulse whose envelope varies as ${t}^{k}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}t}$ for tg0tg0tg0, a rectangular pulse, an ultrashort pulse (i.e., pulse width much less than T2{T}_{2}T2​), and the leading portion of a step-function pulse. The propagation of a small-area Gaussian pulse is studied numerically.
This article presents a study of the propagation of small-area pulses of coherent light through matter. It is found that the small-area pulses exactly obey an area theorem which, in the case of an attenuating medium, requires that the pulse area decay to zero exponentially with increasing distance of propagation. This, however, does not necessarily imply that the pulse energy decays exponentially. Instead, it is found that pulses of duration comparable to or shorter than the transverse relaxation time of the medium T2{T}_{2}T2​ (including both homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening) propagate with low energy loss. The results are explained in terms of simple physical arguments which indicate that the pulse envelope should oscillate between positive and negative values, causing the area to decrease without a comparable decrease in the pulse energy. Analytic solutions are presented for the case of a pulse whose envelope varies as ${t}^{k}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}t}$ for t>0t>0t>0, a rectangular pulse, an ultrashort pulse (i.e., pulse width much less than T2{T}_{2}T2​), and the leading portion of a step-function pulse. The propagation of a small-area Gaussian pulse is studied numerically.