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We report on experimental and theoretical investigations of dynamic evolution of individual /f-branch laser lines from tunnel-ionized nitrogen molecules based on a pump-probe scheme. Our observation shows that the intensities of the R-branch laser lines exhibit rapid oscillations which can be decomposed into periodic oscillations at different frequencies. The oscillations can be attributed to the coupling between the rotational quantum states mediated either by the probe pulses or by the P-branch laser emission from the molecular ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular rotational spectroscopy based on a strong-field-ionization-induced nitrogen laser is employed to investigate the time evolution of the rotational wave packet composed by a coherent superposition of quantum rotational states created in a field-free molecular alignment. We show that this technique uniquely allows real-time observation of the ultrafast dynamics of the molecular rotational wave packet. Our analysis also shows that there exist two channels of generation of the nitrogen laser, shedding light on the population inversion mechanism behind the air laser generated by intense femtosecond laser pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the generation of an intense extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) supercontinuum with photon energies spanning from 35 to 50 eV (i.e., supporting an isolated attosecond pulse with a duration of ∼271 as) by loosely focusing 35 fs, 11 mj pulses from a femtosecond laser amplifier into a 10-mm-long gas cell filled with krypton gas. The dramatic change in spectral and temporal properties of the driver pulses after passing through the gas cell indicates that propagation effects play a significant role in promoting the generation of the EUV supercontinuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate that the peak intensity in the filament core, which is inherently limited by the intensity clamping effect during femtosecond laser filamentation, can be significantly enhanced using spatiotemporally focused femtosecond laser pulses. In addition, the filament length obtained by spatiotemporally focused femtosecond laser pulses is ~25 times shorter than that obtained by a conventional focusing scheme, resulting in improved high spatial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a harmonic-seeded switchable multiwavelength laser in air driven by intense midinfrared femtosecond laser pulses, in which population inversion occurs at an ultrafast time scale (i.e., less than ~200 fs) owing to direct formation of excited molecular nitrogen ions by strong-field ionization of inner-valence electrons. The bright multiwavelength laser in air opens the perspective for remote detection of multiple pollutants based on nonlinear optical spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Yao et al. demonstrated the creation of coherent emissions in nitrogen gas with two-color (800 nm + 400 nm) ultrafast laser pulses [J. Yao, G. Li, C. Jing, B. Zeng, W. Chu, J. Ni, H. Zhang, H. Xie, C. Zhang, H. Li, H. Xu, S. L. Chin, Y. Cheng, and Z. Xu, New J. Phys. 15, 023046 (2013)]. Based on this two-color scheme, here we report on systematic investigation of temporal characteristics of the radiation emitted at 391 nm [N2+: B²σu+ (n = 0) - X²σg++ (n = 0)] by experimentally examining its temporal profiles with the increase of the plasma channel induced by the intense 800-nm femtosecond laser pulses at a nitrogen-gas pressure of ~25 mbar. We reveal unexpected temporal profiles of the coherent emissions, which show significant superradiance signatures owing to the cooperation of an ensemble of excited N2+ molecules that are coherently radiating in phase. Our findings shed more light on the mechanisms behind the coherent laserlike emissions induced by strong-field ionization of molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present experimental and theoretical evidence on the breakdown of the simple man's model in the high-energy recollision region by examining both the energy-resolved angular distribution of photoelectrons in above-threshold ionization and the spectrum of high-order harmonics generated in elliptically polarized driver fields. With the help of a semiclassical model calculation, we show that, surprisingly, even for the high-energy recollision electrons, their wave-packet dynamics can be influenced strongly by the Coulomb field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the comparative experimental investigation on third- and fifth-harmonic generation (THG and FHG) in atomic and molecular gases driven by midinfrared ultrafast laser pulses at a wavelength of ~ 1500 nm. We observe that the conversion efficiencies of both the THG and FHG processes saturate at similar peak intensities close to ~1.5 x 1014 W/cm⊃2 for argon, nitrogen, and air, whose ionization potentials are close to each other. Near the saturation intensity, the ratio of yields of the FHG and THG reaches ~10-1 for all the gases. Our results show that high-order Kerr effect seems to exist; however, contribution from the fourth-order Kerr refractive index coefficient alone is insufficient to balance the Kerr self-focusing without the assistance of plasma generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an experimental comparison of critical intensities of nonlinear self-focusing in air with conventional focusing and spatiotemporal focusing schemes. Our results show that the conventional focusing with the focal lens completely filled with the incident beam allows for a higher peak intensity near the focus against the nonlinear self-focusing than the spatiotemporal focusing scheme. This is because in the high-numerical-aperture condition, the focal spot will have a compact size, which results in a high focal intensity. Meanwhile, the Rayleigh length of the focused beam will be substantially shortened, which efficiently postpones the onset of self-focusing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We perform an experimental study on comparison between the ionization of homonuclear diatomic molecules (O2 and N2) and their companion atoms (Xe and Ar) radiated by circularly polarized intense laser fields. We find that the ionization of O2 shows suppression with respect to its companion atom Xe, which exhibits a clear wavelength and intensity dependence similar to that in linearly polarized laser field, while the ionization of N2 behaves like its companion atom Ar. With the help of S-matrix theoretical analysis, our observations can be attributed to both the molecular orbital and the two-center interference effect in molecular ionization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally investigate lasing behaviors of population-inverted N2+ ions for the transitions between the vibrational level (v' = 0) of excited electronic B 2Σu+ state and the two lowest vibrational levels (v = 0, 1) of the ground X 2Σu+ state in an elliptically polarized laser field. It is found that, as the polarization of the pump laser evolves from linear to circular, the lasing signal for the 0 → 0 transition at 391 nm first increases with a maximum enhancement of ∼40% at the ellipticity of 0.3 and then decreases, whereas for the 0 → 1 transition at 428 nm, the lasing signal decreases monotonically. This difference between the 391 - and 428-nm lasing signals is ascribed to the high sensitivity of the strong-field response of the molecular ion to molecular vibrations, which indicates the possibility to control the vibrational state distribution of molecules by tuning the ellipticity of the laser pulse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally investigate high-order-harmonic generation (HHG) of diatomic molecules (O2, N2) and their companion atoms (Xe, Ar, respectively, which are of nearly the same ionization potentials as the corresponding molecules) with midinfrared femtosecond laser pulses. It is found that the cutoff of O2 extends to higher energy as compared to that of Xe, and the extension of cutoff energy of O2 depends on the driver wavelength. Our theoretical analysis shows that the ionization suppression induced by two-center interference should be responsible for the harmonic cutoff extension of O2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically demonstrate the generation of wavelength-tunable, narrow-bandwidth extreme-ultraviolet (xuv) radiation by high-order harmonic generation (HHG) driven by an orthogonally polarized two-color laser field, which is composed of a 10-fs, 1500-nm laser pulse and a 40-fs, 2400-nm laser pulse. By performing classical analysis, we reveal that the rapid change of electron wave-packet dynamics at a subcycle time scale confines high-order harmonic emission to a small spectral region, leading to the generation of narrow-bandwidth xuv radiation. Furthermore, the central wavelength of the xuv radiation can be continuously tuned over a wide range by changing either the peak intensity of the driver laser or the amplitude ratio between the two laser fields at different wavelengths. It is also verified that the use of driver pulses at longer wavelengths leads to a better spectral confinement of the xuv radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental and theoretical investigations of the wavelength dependence of the nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) process of the xenon atom in intense laser fields are reported. The observed wavelength dependence of the ratio Xe2+/Xe+ deviates significantly from the prediction of the three-step model of ionization (sometimes called the "simple-man" model), both in the slope of the overall decrease with increasing wavelength and in the existence of some pronounced humps. A semiclassical model calculation reproduces the changing slope of the overall decrease, which is due to the interplay of wave-packet diffusion, Coulomb focusing, and a closely related Coulomb defocusing effect of the liberated electron. The hump is beyond the scope of the semiclassical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]