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Optics Letters

Dynamic microcavity arrays from colliding attosecond pulses in a medium

Rostislav M. Arkhipov, Mikhail Arkhipov, Nikolay N. Rosanov

Published Jun 25, 2025• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We predict a novel, to our knowledge, phenomenon—the formation of arrays of localized dynamic microcavities during asymmetric collision of single-cycle optical pulses in a two-level medium. We demonstrate that such pulses, behaving similarly to 2π self-induced transparency solitons, generate dynamic structures whose shape is determined by the time delay between the pulses. The obtained results open new avenues for sub-wavelength light field control and can be applied in the development of ultrafast optical devices, topological photonics, and petahertz electronics.

DOI
10.1364/ol.567022

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We predict a novel, to our knowledge, phenomenon—the formation of arrays of localized dynamic microcavities during asymmetric collision of single-cycle optical pulses in a two-level medium. We demonstrate that such pulses, behaving similarly to 2π self-induced transparency solitons, generate dynamic structures whose shape is determined by the time delay between the pulses. The obtained results open new avenues for sub-wavelength light field control and can be applied in the development of ultrafast optical devices, topological photonics, and petahertz electronics.
Abstract The formation of dynamic microcavities (DMs) in the asymmetric collision of a single-cycle π‑pulse and a 2π-pulse of self-induced transparency in a two-level medium is investigated theoretically. The numerical solution of the Maxwell–Bloch equations demonstrates that the interaction of pulses leads to the emergence of two DMs, which are separated in space within the medium. Controlling the shape of the microcavities is possible by altering the number of collisions between pulses. These results pave the way for the development of ultrafast tunable optical devices.
Abstract The paper presents the first study of the formation of disordered arrays of dynamic microcavities under four-pulse excitation of a two-level resonant medium by a train of single-cycle attosecond pulses. The pulses act on the medium similarly to 2π pulses of self-induced transparency. It is shown that multiple pulse collisions in different regions of the medium result in the formation of localized dynamic structures arranged in a disordered manner. The properties of these structures can be rapidly modified by controlling the time delays between the pulses. The results open up new possibilities for research in the field of disordered media, where localization of light and control of dynamic structures are of particular interest.
The coherent interaction of extremely short light pulses with a resonant medium can result in the formation of population difference gratings. Such gratings have been created by pulses that are π/2 or smaller. This paper demonstrates that a microcavity with Bragg-like mirrors can be formed by colliding two single-cycle attosecond self-induced transparency pulses in the center of a two-level medium. The parameters of this structure can be quickly adjusted by increasing the number of collisions, which showcases the ability to control the dynamic properties of the medium on a sub-cycle time scale by using attosecond pulses.
This review highlights recent advances in the creation of atomic population gratings using multi-cycle and extremely short light pulses in a medium. The application of these structures in transient grating spectroscopy is discussed. Special attention is given to the formation of high-quality dynamic microcavities, a novel type of structure recently predicted by the authors, which arises from collisions of extremely short half-cycle pulses within a medium. The results demonstrate the potential for attosecond optical switching of matter states at petahertz frequencies, operating within extreme time scales of half a field oscillation cycle. These findings pave the way for groundbreaking applications in modern ultrafast optics, including petahertz-scale signal processing, attosecond coherent control, and the development of next-generation optical technologies operating at the fundamental limits of speed and precision.
Unipolar light pulses with a non-zero electric area due to the unidirectional action on charged particles can be used for the ultrafast control of the properties of quantum systems. To control atomic properties in an efficient way, it is necessary to vary the temporal shape of the pulses used. This has led to the problem of obtaining pulses of an unusual shape, such as a rectangular one. A number of new phenomena, not possible with conventional multi-cycle pulses, were discovered by analyzing the interaction of such unipolar pulses with matter. These include the formation of dynamic microcavities at each resonant transition of a multilevel medium when such pulses collide with the medium. In this work, we compare the behavior of dynamic microcavities in a two-level and a three-level medium when unipolar pulses of unusual shape (rectangular) are collided with the medium. We do this on the basis of the numerical solution of the system for the density matrix of the medium and the wave equation for the electric field. Medium parameters correspond to atomic hydrogen. It is shown that for rectangular pulses in a three-level medium, the dynamics of the cavities can be very different from the two-level model, as opposed to pulses of other shapes (e.g. Gaussian shape). When the third level of the medium is taken into account, the self-induced transparency-like regime disappears. Differences in the dynamics of resonators in a three-level medium are revealed when the pulses behave like 2π pulses of self-induced transparency.