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Main Authors: Heras, Alba de las, Román, Julio San, Serrano, Javier, Plaja, Luis, Hernández-García, Carlos
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.20707
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author Heras, Alba de las
Román, Julio San
Serrano, Javier
Plaja, Luis
Hernández-García, Carlos
author_facet Heras, Alba de las
Román, Julio San
Serrano, Javier
Plaja, Luis
Hernández-García, Carlos
contents In the rapidly evolving field of structured light, the self-torque has been recently defined as an intrinsic property of light beams carrying time-dependent orbital angular momentum. In particular, extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) beams with self-torque -- exhibiting a topological charge that continuously varies on the subfemtosecond timescale -- are naturally produced in high-order harmonic generation (HHG) when driven by two time-delayed intense infrared vortex beams with different topological charges. Until now, the polarization state of such EUV beams carrying self-torque has been restricted to linear states due to the drastic reduction in the harmonic up-conversion efficiency with increasing the ellipticity of the driving field. In this work, we theoretically demonstrate how to control the polarization state of EUV beams carrying self-torque, from linear to circular. The extremely high sensitivity of HHG to the properties of the driving beam allows us to propose two different driving schemes to circumvent the current limitations to manipulate the polarization state of EUV beams with self-torque. Our advanced numerical simulations are complemented with the derivation of selection rules of angular momentum conservation, which enable precise tunability over the angular momentum properties of the harmonics with self-torque. The resulting high-order harmonic emission, carrying time-dependent orbital angular momentum with a custom polarization state, can expand the applications of ultrafast light-matter interactions, particularly in areas where dichroic or chiral properties are crucial, such as magnetic materials or chiral molecules.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_20707
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Circularly polarized high harmonic beams carrying self-torque or time-dependent orbital angular momentum
Heras, Alba de las
Román, Julio San
Serrano, Javier
Plaja, Luis
Hernández-García, Carlos
Optics
In the rapidly evolving field of structured light, the self-torque has been recently defined as an intrinsic property of light beams carrying time-dependent orbital angular momentum. In particular, extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) beams with self-torque -- exhibiting a topological charge that continuously varies on the subfemtosecond timescale -- are naturally produced in high-order harmonic generation (HHG) when driven by two time-delayed intense infrared vortex beams with different topological charges. Until now, the polarization state of such EUV beams carrying self-torque has been restricted to linear states due to the drastic reduction in the harmonic up-conversion efficiency with increasing the ellipticity of the driving field. In this work, we theoretically demonstrate how to control the polarization state of EUV beams carrying self-torque, from linear to circular. The extremely high sensitivity of HHG to the properties of the driving beam allows us to propose two different driving schemes to circumvent the current limitations to manipulate the polarization state of EUV beams with self-torque. Our advanced numerical simulations are complemented with the derivation of selection rules of angular momentum conservation, which enable precise tunability over the angular momentum properties of the harmonics with self-torque. The resulting high-order harmonic emission, carrying time-dependent orbital angular momentum with a custom polarization state, can expand the applications of ultrafast light-matter interactions, particularly in areas where dichroic or chiral properties are crucial, such as magnetic materials or chiral molecules.
title Circularly polarized high harmonic beams carrying self-torque or time-dependent orbital angular momentum
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.20707