Origin and implication of ellipticity in high-order harmonic generation from aligned molecules

We address theoretically and numerically the possibility of observing ellipticity in high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from aligned molecules driven by linearly polarized fields--a subject of controversy in the recent literature with significant implications. To that end we develop a numerical me...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics Atomic, molecular, and optical physics, 2010-02, Vol.81 (2), Article 021802
Main Authors: Ramakrishna, S., Sherratt, Paul A. J., Dutoi, Anthony D., Seideman, Tamar
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
FREQUENCY MIXING
HARMONIC GENERATION
HARMONICS
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
MOLECULES
OSCILLATIONS
POLARIZATION
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We address theoretically and numerically the possibility of observing ellipticity in high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from aligned molecules driven by linearly polarized fields--a subject of controversy in the recent literature with significant implications. To that end we develop a numerical method for solution of the electronic dynamics and extend a recently developed theory of HHG from aligned molecules. Our numerical results are in good agreement with recent experimental data. The theory explains analytically several observations of polarization experiments. We note the conditions under which ellipticity can be observed and the information content of elliptically polarized harmonics regarding the molecular system.
ISSN:1050-2947
1094-1622
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevA.81.021802