No Arabic abstract
Impulsive X-ray Raman excitations of Lithium, Neon, and Sodium are calculated using the Multiconfiguration Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock method. Using linearly polarized laser pulses without chirp, we determine the optimum central frequency, intensity, and duration for maximum population transfer to valence excited states. We demonstrate the existence of two local optima or sweet spots for population transfer, either of which, depending on the system, may be superior. For some systems we find that population transfer can be maximized by nonresonant Raman transitions, red-detuned below K-edge, because such detuning minimizes core-excited populations and ionization loss. For instance, in Neon near the K-edge the global optimum for population transfer occurs at high intensity (8 $times$ 10$^{19}$ W cm$^{-2}$), short duration (82as full-width-at-half-maximum), and 24eV red-detuned from the K-edge.
We report the observation of a novel nonlinear effect in the hard x-ray range. Upon illuminating Fe and Cu metal foils with intense x-ray pulses tuned near their respective K edges, photons at nearly twice the incoming photon energy are emitted. The signal rises quadratically with the incoming intensity, consistent with two-photon excitation. The spectrum of emitted high-energy photons comprises multiple Raman lines that disperse with the incident photon energy. Upon reaching the double K-shell ionization threshold, the signal strength undergoes a marked rise. Above this threshold, the lines cease dispersing, turning into orescence lines with energies much greater than obtainable by single electron transitions, and additional Raman lines appear. We attribute these processes to electron-correlation mediated multielectron transitions involving double-core hole excitation and various two-electron de-excitation processes to a final state involving one or more L and M core-holes.
The global optimum for valence population transfer in the NO$_2$ molecule driven by impulsive x-ray stimulated Raman scattering of one-femtosecond x-ray pulses tuned below the Oxygen K-edge is determined with the Multiconfiguration Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock method, a fully-correlated first-principles treatment that allows for the ionization of every electron in the molecule. Final valence state populations computed in the fixed-nuclei, nonrelativistic approximation are reported as a function of central wavelength and intensity. The convergence of the calculations with respect to their adjustable parameters is fully tested. Fixing the 1fs duration but varying the central frequency and intensity of the pulse, without chirp, orientation-averaged maximum population transfer of 0.7% to the valence B$_1$ state is obtained at an intensity of 3.16$times$10$^{17}$ W cm$^{-2}$, with the central frequency substantially 6eV red-detuned from the 2nd order optimum; 2.39% is obtained at one specific orientation. The behavior near the global optimum, below the Oxygen K-edge, is consistent with the mechanism of nonresonant Raman transitions driven by the near-edge fine structure oscillator strength.
The interaction between ultrashort light pulses and non-absorbing materials is dominated by Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scattering (ISRS). The description of ISRS in the context of pump&probe experiments is based on effective classical models describing the interaction between the phonon and pulsed electromagnetic fields. Here we report a theoretical description of ISRS where we do not make any semi-classical approximation and we treat both photonic and phononic degrees of freedom at the quantum level. The results of the quantum model are compared with semiclassical results and validated by means of spectrally resolved pump&probe measurements on $alpha$-quartz.
We have calculated the resonant and nonresonant contributions to attosecond impulsive stimulated electronic Raman scattering (SERS) in regions of autoionizing transitions. Comparison with Multiconfiguration Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock (MCTDHF) calculations find that attosecond SERS is dominated by continuum transitions and not autoionizing resonances. These results agree quantitatively with a rate equation that includes second-order Raman and first-and second-order photoionization rates. Such rate models can be extended to larger molecular systems. Our results indicate that attosecond SERS transition probabilities may be understood in terms of two-photon generalized cross sections even in the high-intensity limit for extreme ultraviolet wavelengths.
In Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scattering vibrational oscillations, coherently stimulated by a femtosecond Raman pulse, are real time monitored and read out as intensity modulations in the transmission of a temporally delayed probe pulse. Critically, in order to retrieve broadband Raman spectra, a fine sampling of the time delays between the Raman and probe pulses is required, making conventional ISRS ineffective for probing irreversible phenomena and/or weak scatterers typically demanding long acquisition times, with signal to noise ratios that crucially depend on the pulse fluences and overlap stabilities. To overcome such limitations, here we introduce Chirped based Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scattering (CISRS) technique. Specifically, we show how introducing a chirp in the probe pulse can be exploited for recording the Raman information without scanning the Raman-probe pulse delay. Then we experimentally demonstrate with a few examples how to use the introduced scheme to measure Raman spectra.