Nonlinear optical anisotropy due to freed electrons

Abstract

We present a computational study of the pump-probe response of a single atom to assess any microscopic nonlinear optical anisotropy due to freed electrons for non-resonant optical excitation.Using simulations of the Schrödinger equation for an atom exposed to a strong, short-duration linearly polarized pump, we calculate the induced dipole moment along probe directions parallel and perpendicular to the pump polarization. Our simulations show birefringence ratios of approximately 0.78-0.9 on the timescale of tens of femtoseconds following the excitation pulse.

The role of the Kramers-Henneberger atom in the higher-order Kerr effect

“…It has now been analysed in detail, both experimentally and theoretically in [32][33][34][35][36], and is called 'frustrated tunnelling'. The bound nature of these trapped states can show up after the end of the laser pulse, possibly in the anisotropic response of the excited medium to the delayed probe pulse as recently shown in [37] using full ab initio treatment of the problem and solving coupled Schrödinger and Maxwell equations.…”