Phase-Insensitive Scattering of Terahertz Radiation

The nonlinear interaction between Near-Infrared (NIR) and Terahertz pulses is principally investigated as a means for the detection of radiation in the hardly accessible THz spectral region. Most studies have targeted second-order nonlinear processes, given their higher efficiencies, and only a limited number have addressed third-order nonlinear interactions, mainly investigating four-wave mixing in air for broadband THz detection. We have studied the nonlinear interaction between THz and NIR pulses in solid-state media (specifically diamond), and we show how the former can be frequency-shifted up to UV frequencies by the scattering from the nonlinear polarisation induced by the latter. Such UV emission differs from the well-known electric-field-induced second harmonic (EFISH) one, as it is generated via a phase-insensitive scattering, rather than a sum- or difference-frequency four-wave-mixing process

Coherent control of plasma dynamics

Coherent control of a system involves steering an interaction to a final coherent state by controlling the phase of an applied field. Plasmas support coherent wave structures that can be generated by intense laser fields. Here, we demonstrate the coherent control of plasma dynamics in a laser wakefield electron acceleration experiment. A genetic algorithm is implemented using a deformable mirror with the electron beam signal as feedback, which allows a heuristic search for the optimal wavefront under laser-plasma conditions that is not known a priori. We are able to improve both the electron beam charge and angular distribution by an order of magnitude. These improvements do not simply correlate with having the `best' focal spot, since the highest quality vacuum focal spot produces a greatly inferior electron beam, but instead correspond to the particular laser phase that steers the plasma wave to a final state with optimal accelerating fields

Modelling Quantum Mechanics by the Quantumlike Description of the Electric Signal Propagation in Transmission Lines

It is shown that the transmission line technology can be suitably used for simulating quantum mechanics. Using manageable and at the same time non-expensive technology, several quantum mechanical problems can be simulated for significant tutorial purposes. The electric signal envelope propagation through the line is governed by a Schrodinger-like equation for a complex function, representing the low-frequency component of the signal, In this preliminary analysis, we consider two classical examples, i.e. the Frank-Condon principle and the Ramsauer effect

Laser-Induced Linear Electron Acceleration in Free Space

Linear acceleration in free space is a topic that has been studied for over 20 years, and its ability to eventually produce high-quality, high energy multi-particle bunches has remained a subject of great interest. Arguments can certainly be made that such an ability is very doubtful. Nevertheless, we chose to develop an accurate and truly predictive theoretical formalism to explore this remote possibility in a computational experiment. The formalism includes exact treatment of Maxwell's equations, exact relativistic treatment of the interaction among the multiple individual particles, and exact treatment of the interaction at near and far field. Several surprising results emerged. For example, we find that 30 keV electrons (2.5% energy spread) can be accelerated to 7.7 MeV (2.5% spread) and to 205 MeV (0.25% spread) using 25 mJ and 2.5 J lasers respectively. These findings should hopefully guide and help develop compact, high-quality, ultra-relativistic electron sources, avoiding conventional limits imposed by material breakdown or structural constraints.Comment: Supplementary Information starts on pg 1

Matterwave Transport Without Transit

Classically it is impossible to have transport without transit, i.e., if the points one, two and three lie sequentially along a path then an object moving from one to three must, at some point in time, be located at two. However, for a quantum particle in a three-well system it is possible to transport the particle between wells one and three such that the probability of finding it at any time in the classically accessible state in well two is negligible. We consider theoretically the analogous scenario for a Bose-Einstein condensate confined within a three well system. In particular, we predict the adiabatic transportation of an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate of 2000 Li atoms from well one to well three without transiting the allowed intermediate region. To an observer of this macroscopic quantum effect it would appear that, over a timescale of the order of one second, the condensate had transported, but not transited, a macroscopic distance of 20 microns between wells one and three.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

How to estimate the differential acceleration in a two-species atom interferometer to test the equivalence principle

We propose a scheme for testing the weak equivalence principle (Universality of Free Fall) using an atom-interferometric measurement of the local differential acceleration between two atomic species with a large mass ratio as test masses. A apparatus in free fall can be used to track atomic free-fall trajectories over large distances. We show how the differential acceleration can be extracted from the interferometric signal using Bayesian statistical estimation, even in the case of a large mass and laser wavelength difference. We show that this statistical estimation method does not suffer from acceleration noise of the platform and does not require repeatable experimental conditions. We specialize our discussion to a dual potassium/rubidium interferometer and extend our protocol with other atomic mixtures. Finally, we discuss the performances of the UFF test developed for the free-fall (0-g) airplane in the ICE project (\verb"http://www.ice-space.fr"