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The spectrum of radiation emitted by an electron colliding with a nucleus in the presence of a monochromatic laser field is calculated. The Coulomb potential is treated at all orders and the radiation is seen as spontaneous transition between two free states. The kinetic energy of the electron isT∈100−3000 eV and the laser intensityI∈1010−1013 W/cm2; in this condition we see strong enhancement in thebremsstrahlung cross-section when the emitted frequency is an integral multiple of the laser frequency.

Reduced dimensionality systems (RDS) are materials extending along one or two dimensions much more than the other(s). The degrees of freedom of the small dimension are not explored by the electrons since their energy is very large. The time dependent wave function of a particle in a short nanotube, taken as a paradigm of the RDS family, is calculated by solving the Klein–Gordon equation; the confining condition produces a small change in the mass of the particles and of the energy levels. These changes are of relativistic origin and therefore small, but can be measured by use of a weak resonant laser field which produces cumulative effects in the time development of the wave function. The shift of the energy of the levels are within today's spectroscopy capacity.

We study the application of one nanoring driven by a laser field in different states of polarization in logic circuits. In particular we show that assigning Boolean values to different states of the incident laser field and to the emitted signals, we can create logic gates such as OR, XOR and AND. We also show the possibility of making logic circuits such as half-adder and full-adder using one and two nanorings respectively. Using two nanorings we made the Toffoli gate. Finally we use the final angular momentum acquired by the electron to store information and hence show the possibility of using an array of nanorings as a mass memory device.

The dynamics of a one-dimensional atom driven by three-laser fields is investigated. The total electric field is made up of a fundamental laser field of intensity W cm−2 and wavelength λ = 820 nm and two weak lasers with larger wavelengths. The intensity of the two weak fields is with k = 0.25. The frequencies of the weak fields are and , with and . The three lasers have a Gaussian envelope of 72 fs FWHM. It is shown, by numerical computation and using the semiclassical theory of high-harmonic generation, that the atom interacting with this combined field is able to emit an isolated attosecond burst of radiation.

The interaction of graphene nanoparticles and strong 64 fs pulses is examined. We demonstrate high-order harmonic generation in the plasma contained in crumpled sheets of graphene. The morphological studies of the debris of ablated graphene, application of single-color and two-color pumps of graphene-containing plasma, and theoretical consideration of the high-order harmonic generation in this medium are presented.

The radiation diffused by a one-dimensional homonuclear molecular ion driven by a laser field is studied as a function of the time. When the photon energy is resonant with the energy gap between the ground and the first excited state, the electronic probability density is seen to undergo slow and deep oscillations between the two nuclei. Synchronous to such oscillations, deep modulations of the emitted power are observed. The period of oscillation is of the order of 10 optical cycles. Detection of the variation in the intensity of the emitted electromagnetic spectrum therefore brings information on the position of the electron in the molecule.

We study the high harmonic generation and the polarization of the harmonics emitted by a nanoring driven by two laser fields of angular frequency ?1 and ?2, with ?2?=?2?1, and ?1 resonant between the ground and the first excited state. We show that by varying parameters, such as laser intensity, photon energy and the delay between the two laser pulses, we can control the number of harmonics and the polarization of the radiation. In particular we show that with this choice of two-laser photon frequency rate we obtain more harmonics with respect to other configurations. We also calculated the average absorbed energy and the average angular momentum acquired by the electron as a function of the intensity of the two lasers obtaining spikes of angular momentum.

The time-dependent wave function of a nanoring driven by a laser field is obtained by exploiting the symmetries inherent to the system and used for studying the properties of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the nanoring as a function of the polarization state of the laser. The diffused radiation has the characteristics of high-order-harmonic generation. For a noncircularly polarized laser field an extension of the expected cutoff position is evident, indicating that nanorings are efficient sources of radiation. The polarization state of the emitted harmonics can be opportunely controlled by varying the parameters of the pump field. The profile of the absorbed angular moment shows that a magnetic moment can be induced depending on the polarization of the driven field.

A quantum ring driven by an intense laser field emits light in the form of high-harmonic radiation resulting from the strong acceleration experienced by the active electrons forced to move on a curved trajectory. The spectrum of the emitted light is rich and strongly dependent on the parameters of the problem. In order to investigate the physical origin of such variability, we focus on the seemingly simple problem of a laser-driven charge constrained to a ring from a classical standpoint. As it turns out, the dynamics of such a classical electron is governed by a nonlinear equation which results into a chaotic motion - by nature depending on the initial conditions in an unpredictable way. Our results indicate that the quantum harmonic spectra are reminiscent of the classical counterpart and suggest the existence of a line connecting the quantum and classical realms.

In this paper we discuss isotopic effects in simple molecular ions subjected to strong laser fields. We show that the intensity of the emitted spectra strongly depends upon both the nuclear mass of the molecular ions and the laser pulse duration. In particular, for short pulse duration [up to 8 optical cycles (o.c.)], we confirm the trend described in the most studied case in which the high-order harmonic generation is more efficient for heavier isotopes; in contrast, an interesting physical phenomenon is predicted for pulses longer than 16 o.c. characterized by an inverse effect in which lighter molecular species are responsible for higher-order harmonic emission.

The time dependent Schrodinger equation of a homonuclear diatomic molecule in the presence of a linearly polarized laser field is numerically solved by means of a split-operator parallel code. The calculations are carried out by assuming a single active electron model with fixed nuclei; a simplified two-dimensional model of the system is used. The highly nonlinear response of the electron wave function to the laser electric field stimulates the molecule to emit electromagnetic radiation consisting of a wide plateau of odd harmonics of the laser field. It is shown that the emitted spectrum can be finely controlled by changing the angle between the laser electric field and the molecular axis; this can be used to achieve a tunable source of high frequency radiation.

A new scheme to generate isolated attosecond pulses is presented that involves the use of a laser field and of a unipolar field. The laser field has a pulse of intensity I = 1.5×1014 W cm−2 and wavelength λ = 820 nm. The unipolar pulse is an asymmetric pulse consisting of a sharp peak, lasting approximately half a laser period, i.e. nearly 1.4 fs, followed by a long and shallow tail. We show that on combining these two fields, it is possible to generate isolated attosecond pulses as short as 1/10 of a laser period, i.e. approximately 270 as. Moreover, it is argued that this scheme is robust either against small variations of the laser envelope, or against small changes in the delay between the laser pump and the unipolar pulse.

In this paper we investigate the single and double ionization signals of ${\text{H}}_{2}$ molecules, with fixed and moving nuclei, as a function of laser intensity, for two different values of laser wavelength ($\ensuremath{\lambda}=390\text{ }\text{nm}$ and $\ensuremath{\lambda}=780\text{ }\text{nm}$), using an approach for evaluating the ionization signals which allows the investigation of relatively long-lasting pulses. The He system is first investigated to benchmark our calculation against already known results. We confirm the evidence of nonsequentiality in the ionization processes of all the systems investigated. Furthermore, we show that the nuclei motion enhances the double ionization signals by means of a mechanism which is very similar to a charge-resonant enhanced ionization (CREI) effect [Zuo and Bandrauk, Phys. Rev. A 52, R2511 (1995)].

We study the dynamics of an electron constrained over the surface of a rigid sphere, with geometrical parameters similar to those of the C60 fullerene, embedded in a low intensity linearly polarized laser field. The model is shown to emit odd harmonics of the laser even at very low field intensity. For more intense laser fields, the spectrum presents odd harmonics and hyper-Raman lines shaped in a broad plateau. The spectrum of the model is compared to that theoretically obtained by other authors for more realistic models of C60. It is concluded that the model can be used as a paradigm for mesoscopic molecules in the fullerene family, particularly in practical applications where it is convenient to have a simple model of fullerene molecules. It is also concluded that the model is an example lending support to the concept of universality introduced by other authors some time ago.

In this paper we show how it is possible to investigate the nuclear dynamics of simple molecular ions and molecules by looking at the high-order harmonic generation spectra they emit in the presence of a laser field. In particular we investigate two different effects: the presence of sidebands in the emitted spectra around the usual odd harmonics and an isotopic effect which affects the height of the plateau lines. We further study the advantages and the limitations of the semiclassical approach.

We propose a new scheme to produce isolated attosecond pulses, involving the use of three laser pulses: a fundamental laser field of intensity I = 3.5 × 1014 W cm−2 and of wavelength λ = 820 nm, and two properly chosen weak lasers with wavelengths 1.5λ and 0.5λ. The three lasers have a Gaussian envelope of 36 fs full width at half maximum. The resulting total field is an asymmetric electric field with an isolated peak. We show that a model atom, interacting with the above-defined total field, generates an isolated attosecond pulse as short as 1/10 of a laser period, i.e. approximately 270 as.

Accurate numerical calculations are carried out to investigate the validity of the two-state approximation in the case of resonant interactions between electromagnetic radiation and atoms . Short pulses are considered and the presence of the atomic spectrum is modelled by introducing a third, nonresonant, state . We show that the harmonics of the pulse profile may play a significant role in the dynamics of the process and may cause energy nonconserving transitions between the atomic states. © 1990 Taylor & Francis Ltd.

In this paper we show how it is possible to investigate the nuclei dynamics of a D2+ molecular ion by using the high harmonic generation spectra emitted by the system when subjected to an intense laser field. In particular, the emitted spectra contains, in addition to the usual odd harmonic peaks, additional satellite peaks whose frequency spacing is equal to the vibrational frequency of the nuclei.

The electromagnetic spectrum emitted by a molecule driven by a laser presents harmonics and satellite lines whose separation is equal to the oscillation frequency of the nuclei. Full quantum and semiclassical calculations are presented.

In this work we study harmonic emission from structured quantum rings (SQRs). In SQRs, electrons trapped in two-dimensional structures are further confined by an external potential composed of N scattering centers arranged on a circle. We build a suitable one-dimensional model Hamiltonian describing this class of systems and analytically solve the associated Schödinger equation. We find that the solution can be expressed in terms of Mathieu functions and focus on the specific case of N = 6. By exactly solving the time-dependent Schödinger equation, we then show how the harmonic response to linearly polarized lasers strongly depends on the ring physical parameters. The results illustrate how the additional degrees of freedom introduced by these parameters provide important handles to control the emitted spectrum that in some cases extends into the XUV region.

We study the ionization dynamics of a model one-dimensional molecular ion as a function of the internuclear distance R, for different values of the laser intensity. The electron–nucleus potential is assumed to be a Poschl–Teller potential, whose parameters are chosen to have only two bare bound molecular states in the range of R considered. We describe three different theoretical approaches to study the dynamics of the system: an exact numerical, a semiperturbative and a phenomenological approach. All these approaches indicate the presence of a sharp ionization peak for a critical value of the internuclear distance, for which the energy difference between the two bound levels coincides with the laser photon energy. The results obtained are explained and a new model of molecular ionization in intense laser field is presented.

We describe, using a semiclassical approach, the molecular dynamics of a one-dimensional H2 molecule interacting with a laser, beyond the Born–Oppenheimer approximation. We observe and discuss different molecular behaviors, such as ionization and dissociation.

The dynamics of an electron wave packet in the presence of laser radiation and of a one-dimensional repulsive soft-core potential is investigated. For different laser intensities and for different initial positions of the electron wave packet, these results are compared with those for an attractive potential. The repulsive potential is capable of confining the electron quite efficiently under appropriate conditions. In these conditions, the electron is shown to emit a high harmonic spectrum similar to that emitted by the more conventional attractive potential. It is thus argued that recombination into an atomic bound state as required by the three step model is not essential for the emission of high harmonics.

The spectrum emitted by a three-level atom in the presence of a weak laser field is given together with the population dynamics and the phase of the Fourier transform of the acceleration. Calculations show that the spectrum can be very different from that emitted by a two-level atom. When the trapping conditions are obtained, the coupling to the third level can result in a large change in the spectrum.

We present the results of experimental and theoretical studies of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in plasmas containing fullerenes using pulses of different duration and wavelength. We find that the harmonic cutoff is extended in the case of few-cycle pulses (3.5 fs, 29th harmonic) compared to longer laser pulses (40 fs, 25th harmonic) at the same intensity. Our studies also include HHG in fullerenes using 1300 and 780 nm multicycle (35 and 40 fs) pulses. For 1300 nm pulses, an extension of the harmonic cutoff to the 41st order was obtained, with a decrease in conversion efficiency that is consistent with theoretical predictions based on wave packet spreading for single atoms. Theoretical calculations of fullerene harmonic spectra using the single active electron approximation were carried out for both few-cycle and multicycle pulses.

The collision of an electron against a repulsive potential in the presence of a laser field is investigated. It is found that a sufficiently strong laser field forces the electron to remain in the neighbourhood of the repulsive potential causing bremsstrahlung. By appropriately filtering the emitted signal, an electron in the presence of a repulsive potential is capable of generating attosecond pulses.

An iterative method to obtain a solution of the differential equation $$i\dot a = \hat H(t)a$$ , with Ĥ a 3×3 Hermitian matrix anda the unknown vector, is proposed. The procedure is particularly suitable for computer implementation and, as an example, has been applied to find the excitation probability of a three-level atom after the synchronous passage of two laser pulses each almost resonant with a pair of atomic levels.

In this work we study the radiation diffused by a fictitious structured nanoring driven by an intense laser field. In our model we consider an electron moving through a cosine-shape potential. The results show that the ring, under particular conditions, emits a wide spectrum of harmonics.