Structure- and laser-gauges for the semiconductor Bloch equations in high-harmonic generation in solids

The semiconductor Bloch equations (SBEs) are routinely used for simulations of strong-field laser-matter interactions in condensed matter. In systems without inversion or time-reversal symmetries, the Berry connections and transition dipole phases (TDPs) must be included in the SBEs, which in turn requires the construction of a smooth and periodic structure gauge for the Bloch states. Here, we illustrate a general approach for such a structure-gauge construction for topologically trivial systems. Furthermore, we investigate the SBEs in the length and velocity gauges, and discuss their respective advantages and shortcomings for the high-harmonic generation (HHG) process. We find that in cases where we require dephasing or separation of the currents into interband and intraband contributions, the length gauge SBEs are computationally more efficient. In calculations without dephasing and where only the total current is needed, the velocity gauge SBEs are structure-gauge independent and are computationally more efficient. We employ two systems as numerical examples to highlight our findings: an 1D model of ZnO and the 2D monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). The omittance of Berry connections or TDPs in the SBEs for h-BN results in nonphysical HHG spectra. The structure- and laser-gauge considerations in the current work are not restricted to the HHG process, and are applicable to all strong-field matter simulations with SBEs

A Unified Elementary Approach to the Dyson, Morris, Aomoto, and Forrester Constant Term Identities

We introduce an elementary method to give unified proofs of the Dyson, Morris, and Aomoto identities for constant terms of Laurent polynomials. These identities can be expressed as equalities of polynomials and thus can be proved by verifying them for sufficiently many values, usually at negative integers where they vanish. Our method also proves some special cases of the Forrester conjecture.Comment: 20 page

Polarized positron beams via intense two-color laser pulses

Generation of ultrarelativistic polarized positrons during interaction of an ultrarelativistic electron beam with a counterpropagating two-color petawatt laser pulse is investigated theoretically. Our Monte Carlo simulation based on a semi-classical model, incorporates photon emissions and pair productions, using spin-resolved quantum probabilities in the local constant field approximation, and describes the polarization of electrons and positrons for the pair production and photon emission processes, as well as the classical spin precession in-between. The main reason of the polarization is shown to be the spin-asymmetry of the pair production process in strong external fields, combined with the asymmetry of the two-color laser field. Employing a feasible scenario, we show that highly polarized positron beams, with a polarization degree of $\zeta\approx 60\%$, can be produced in a femtosecond time scale, with a small angular divergence, $\sim 74$ mrad, and high density $\sim 10^{14}$ cm$^{-3}$. The laser-driven positron source, along with laser wakefield acceleration, may pave the way to small scale facilities for high energy physics studies

Imperfect Recollisions in High-Harmonic Generation in Solids

We theoretically investigate high-harmonic generation in hexagonal boron nitride with linearly polarized laser pulses. We show that imperfect recollisions between electron-hole pairs in the crystal give rise to an electron-hole-pair polarization energy that leads to a double-peak structure in the subcycle emission profiles. An extended recollision model (ERM) is developed that allows for such imperfect recollisions, as well as effects related to Berry connections, Berry curvatures, and transition-dipole phases. The ERM illuminates the distinct spectrotemporal characteristics of harmonics emitted parallel and perpendicularly to the laser polarization direction. Imperfect recollisions are a general phenomenon and a manifestation of the spatially delocalized nature of the real-space wave packet, they arise naturally in systems with large Berry curvatures, or in any system driven by elliptically polarized light

Characterizing Anomalous High-Harmonic Generation in Solids

Anomalous high-harmonic generation (HHG) arises in certain solids when irradiated by an intense laser field, as the result of a nonlinear perpendicular current akin to a Hall current. Here, we theoretically characterize the anomalous HHG mechanism, via development of an ab-initio methodology for strong-field laser-solid interaction that allows a rigorous decomposition of the total current. We identify two key characteristics of the anomalous harmonic yields: an overall increase with laser wavelength; and pronounced minima at certain intensities or wavelengths around which the emission time profiles drastically change. Such signatures can be exploited to disentangle the anomalous harmonics from the competing interband harmonics, and thus pave way for the experimental identification and time-domain control of pure anomalous harmonics.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure