Role of Spin-Orbit Coupling in High-Order Harmonic Generation Revealed by Supercycle Rydberg Trajectories
Mayer N, Beaulieu S, Jimenez-Galan A, Patchkovskii S, Kornilov O, Descamps D, Petit S, Smirnova O, Mairesse Y, Ivanov MY (2022)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2022
Journal
Book Volume: 129
Article Number: 173202
Journal Issue: 17
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.173202
Abstract
High-harmonic generation is typically thought of as a sub-laser-cycle process, with the electron's excursion in the continuum lasting a fraction of the optical cycle. However, it was recently suggested that long-lived Rydberg states can play a particularly important role in high harmonic generation by atoms driven by the combination of the counterrotating circularly polarized fundamental light field and its second harmonic. Here we report direct experimental evidence of very long and stable Rydberg trajectories contributing to high-harmonic generation in such fields. We track their dynamics inside the laser pulse using the spin-orbit evolution in the ionic core, utilizing the spin-orbit Larmor clock. We confirm their effect on harmonic emission both via microscopic simulations and by showing how this radiation can lead to a well-collimated macroscopic far-field signal. Our observations contrast sharply with the general view that long-lived Rydberg orbits should generate negligible contribution to the macroscopic far-field high harmonic response of the medium.
Involved external institutions
Max-Born-Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. / Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy
Germany (DE)
Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules (IN2P3)
France (FR)
Germany (DE)
Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules (IN2P3)
France (FR)
How to cite
APA:
Mayer, N., Beaulieu, S., Jimenez-Galan, A., Patchkovskii, S., Kornilov, O., Descamps, D.,... Ivanov, M.Y. (2022). Role of Spin-Orbit Coupling in High-Order Harmonic Generation Revealed by Supercycle Rydberg Trajectories. Physical Review Letters, 129(17). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.173202
MLA:
Mayer, Nicola, et al. "Role of Spin-Orbit Coupling in High-Order Harmonic Generation Revealed by Supercycle Rydberg Trajectories." Physical Review Letters 129.17 (2022).
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