47 research outputs found
Nonlinear resonance reflection from and transmission through a dense glassy system built up of oriented linear Frenkel chains: two-level models
A theoretical study of the resonance optical response of assemblies of
oriented short (as compared to an optical wavelength) linear Frenkel chains is
carried out using a two-level model. We show that both transmittivity and
reflectivity of the film may behave in a bistable fashion and analyze how the
effects found depend on the film thickness and on the inhomogeneous width of
the exciton optical transition.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure
Stable spinning optical solitons in three dimensions
We introduce spatiotemporal spinning solitons (vortex tori) of the
three-dimensional nonlinear Schrodinger equation with focusing cubic and
defocusing quintic nonlinearities. The first ever found completely stable
spatiotemporal vortex solitons are demonstrated. A general conclusion is that
stable spinning solitons are possible as a result of competition between
focusing and defocusing nonlinearities.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
Theory of radiation trapping by the accelerating solitons in optical fibers
We present a theory describing trapping of the normally dispersive radiation
by the Raman solitons in optical fibers. Frequency of the radiation component
is continuously blue shifting, while the soliton is red shifting. Underlying
physics of the trapping effect is in the existence of the inertial gravity-like
force acting on light in the accelerating frame of reference. We present
analytical calculations of the rate of the opposing frequency shifts of the
soliton and trapped radiation and find it to be greater than the rate of the
red shift of the bare Raman soliton. Our findings are essential for
understanding of the continuous shift of the high frequency edge of the
supercontinuum spectra generated in photonic crystal fibers towards higher
frequencies.Comment: Several misprints in text and formulas corrected. 10 pages, 9
figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Spontaneous emission and level shifts in absorbing disordered dielectrics and dense atomic gases: A Green's function approach
Spontaneous emission and Lamb shift of atoms in absorbing dielectrics are
discussed. A Green's-function approach is used based on the multipolar
interaction Hamiltonian of a collection of atomic dipoles with the quantised
radiation field. The rate of decay and level shifts are determined by the
retarded Green's-function of the interacting electric displacement field, which
is calculated from a Dyson equation describing multiple scattering. The
positions of the atomic dipoles forming the dielectrics are assumed to be
uncorrelated and a continuum approximation is used. The associated unphysical
interactions between different atoms at the same location is eliminated by
removing the point-interaction term from the free-space Green's-function (local
field correction). For the case of an atom in a purely dispersive medium the
spontaneous emission rate is altered by the well-known Lorentz local-field
factor. In the presence of absorption a result different from previously
suggested expressions is found and nearest-neighbour interactions are shown to
be important.Comment: 6 pages no figure
On the Properties of Two Pulses Propagating Simultaneously in Different Dispersion Regimes in a Nonlinear Planar Waveguide
Properties of two pulses propagating simultaneously in different dispersion
regimes, anomalous and normal, in a Kerr-type planar waveguide are studied in
the framework of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. Catastrophic
self-focusing and spatio-temporal splitting of the pulses is investigated. For
the limiting case when the dispersive term of the pulse propagating in the
normal dispersion regime can be neglected an indication of a possibility of a
stable self-trapped propagation of both pulses is obtained.Comment: 18 pages (including 15 eps figures
Observation of relativistic cross-phase modulation in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions
Ultrashort filaments of light in weakly-ionized, optically-transparent media
Modern laser sources nowadays deliver ultrashort light pulses reaching few
cycles in duration, high energies beyond the Joule level and peak powers
exceeding several terawatt (TW). When such pulses propagate through
optically-transparent media, they first self-focus in space and grow in
intensity, until they generate a tenuous plasma by photo-ionization. For free
electron densities and beam intensities below their breakdown limits, these
pulses evolve as self-guided objects, resulting from successive equilibria
between the Kerr focusing process, the chromatic dispersion of the medium, and
the defocusing action of the electron plasma. Discovered one decade ago, this
self-channeling mechanism reveals a new physics, widely extending the frontiers
of nonlinear optics. Implications include long-distance propagation of TW beams
in the atmosphere, supercontinuum emission, pulse shortening as well as
high-order harmonic generation. This review presents the landmarks of the
10-odd-year progress in this field. Particular emphasis is laid to the
theoretical modeling of the propagation equations, whose physical ingredients
are discussed from numerical simulations. Differences between femtosecond
pulses propagating in gaseous or condensed materials are underlined. Attention
is also paid to the multifilamentation instability of broad, powerful beams,
breaking up the energy distribution into small-scale cells along the optical
path. The robustness of the resulting filaments in adverse weathers, their
large conical emission exploited for multipollutant remote sensing, nonlinear
spectroscopy, and the possibility to guide electric discharges in air are
finally addressed on the basis of experimental results.Comment: 50 pages, 38 figure
LASER PHYSICS LETTERS
Abstract: Raman spectroscopy offers a powerful alternative analytical method for the detection and identification of lipids/oil in biological samples, such as algae and fish. Recent research in the authors' groups, and experimental data only very recently published by us and a few other groups suggest that Raman spectroscopy can be exploited in instances where fast and accurate determination of the iodine value (associated with the degree of lipid unsaturation) is required. Here the current status of Raman spectroscopy applications on algae is reviewed, and particular attention is given to the efforts of identifying and selecting oil-rich algal strains for the potential mass production of commercial biofuels and for utilization in the food industry. Normalized intensity, a.u
PACS: 32.30.-r, 32.60.+i, 32.70
Abstract: We have measured light shifts, also known as AC Stark shifts, as a function of laser intensity in cold Rubidium atoms by observing sub-natural linewidth gain and loss features in the transmission spectrum of a weak probe beam passing through the atomic sample. The observed energy-level shifts for atoms in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) are found to be consistently higher than that obtained in optical molasses (i.e., when the magnetic field gradient in the MOT is turned off). Using a simple model of a multilevel Rubidium atom interacting with pump and probe beams, we have calculated the theoretical light shift as a function of intensity. A comparison of these calculated values with the light shift data obtained for molasses reveals good agreement between experiment and theory. Further, our model elucidates the role of the Zeeman shifts arising from the magnetic field gradient in the observed probe transmission spectrum for the MOT. A qualitative plot of the transmission spectrum of a probe beam through a fictitious sample of cold J = 1 → J = 2 atoms showing probe absorption at the sum of the pump frequency ω pump and δ , where δ is the difference of the light shifts between the |J = 1,mJ = 0 and the |J = 1,mJ = ± 1 ground state Zeeman sublevels. Probe gain is depicted at ω pump -δ . Se