Delayed Higher-Order Optical Nonlinearities in Noble Gases

Nikolai L. Manakov, V. D. Ovsyannikov

Maryam Tarazkar, Dmitri Romanov, Robert J. Levis

T. B. Pittman, Daniel E. Jones, J. D. Franson

We demonstrate ultralow-power optical nonlinearities using a sub-wavelength diameter tapered optical fiber in a gas of metastable xenon atoms. The use of inert noble gases offers advantages over reactive alkali vapors such as rubidium.

Felipe Morales, Maria Richter, Misha Ivanov +1 more

It is commonly assumed that for low-intensity short optical pulses far from resonance, the third-order optical nonlinear response is instantaneous. We solve the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the hydrogen atom and show that this is not the case: the polarization is not simply proportional to the cube of the electric field even at low intensities. We analyze the fundamental-frequency and third-harmonic nonlinear susceptibilities of hydrogen, investigate their dependence on intensity, and find that the delays in the Kerr response rapidly approach the femtosecond time-scale at higher intensities, while the delays in the third harmonic generation remain much lower. We also propose an experimental scheme to detect and characterize the above effects.

James A. McKelvie

M. Kolesik, E. M. Wright

for different noble gases can be scaled onto each other, revealing universal functions that characterize the form of the nonlinear response. We elucidate the physical origin of the universality by using a metastable state analysis of the light-atom interaction in combination with a scaling analysis. Our results also provide a powerful new means of characterizing the nonlinear response in the mid-infrared and long-wave infrared for optical filamentation studies.