Propagation of complex shaped ultrafast pulses in highly optically dense samples
J. C. Davis, Matthew R. Fetterman, W. S. Warren +1 more
We examine the propagation of shaped (amplitude- and frequency-modulated) ultrafast laser pulses through optically dense rubidium vapor. Pulse reshaping, stimulated emission dynamics, and residual electronic excitation all strongly depend on the laser pulse shape. For example, frequency swept pulses, which produce adiabatic passage in the optically thin limit (independent of the sign of the frequency sweep), behave unexpectedly in optically dense samples. Paraxial Maxwell optical Bloch equations can model our ultrafast pulse propagation results well and provide insight.
The Journal of Chemical Physics•Apr 17, 2008•5 citations