The validity issues of some approximations widely used to describe subcycle pulse propagation in various non-magnetic media are addressed. As the validity criteria we apply the fundamental electric area conservation rule, which directly follows from Maxwell’s equations in the 1D case. The general relations are derived for the possible values of the electric area in different media. It is shown that several theoretical models do not in general comply with the electric area conservation rule, which implies their limited applicability to correctly describe the subcycle pulse interaction with media. Therefore, any results obtained using such models cannot be taken as scientifically valid and meaningful.

In this talk, the formation and control of optical microcavities by the collision of unipolar light pulses in resonant media is theoretically demonstrated.

When ultra-short unipolar pulses overlap in a resonant medium, the formation of a dynamic “microcavity”, i.e. a burst of the population difference, is feasible. This paper presents, first, the relations allowing to calculate the parameters of such a microcavity using the analytical solution of the equations for the density matrix of a two-level medium, and second, the dependence of the microcavities’ parameters on the pulse form using the numerical solution of Maxwell–Bloch equations.

In recent years, significant progress has been made in generating ultrashort electromagnetic pulses of single-cycle and subcycle duration. Unipolar pulses contain one half-cycle of the field and have a nonzero electric area. The conventional concepts of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter (in particular, interference) used in the case of multicycle pulses are not applicable to unipolar ones. This minireview discusses the latest results on the effects of extremely short low-amplitude pulses (when the perturbation theory is valid) on resonant media and individual quantum systems (atoms, molecules, and nanostructures) from the viewpoint of the recently introduced concept of “interference” of the areas of short light pulses (electric and envelope areas). We provide a simple relation showing that in order to compare the effects of multicycle bipolar and subcycle unipolar pulses on micro-objects, one should compare their areas, not energies. By numerically solving the Maxwell–Bloch equations, we study the features of area interference are studied beyond the limits of perturbation theory. It is shown that, after the collision of a pair of π-like ultrashort pulses, polarization structures and population difference gratings with non-harmonic multipeak structures are formed inside the medium. The possibility of experimentally determining the electric area of unipolar pulses through interference of their areas is discussed for the first time.

Obtaining unipolar half-cycle optical pulses of femto- and attosecond duration with a large electrical area is an urgent but difficult task. The reason for the emerging difficulties lies in the existence of the rule of conservation of the electrical area of the pulse, which does not allow converting a bipolar pulse into a unipolar one. In this work, it is shown that in a resonant medium a few-cycle pulse can be converted into two unipolar pulses separated in time by a distance that is an order of magnitude or more longer than the duration of the initial pulse. This allows in a number of problems to consider such pulses separately as unipolar. The estimation of the electric area value relative to its “atomic scale” is carried out.

Attosecond pulses can be used to create and control coherence in resonant media, since their duration is shorter than the population relaxation times T1 and medium polarization T2. Previously, the possibility of creating and ultrafast control of electromagnetically induced gratings (EMIG) of atomic populations in a resonant medium was shown using a sequence of extremely short light pulses, when the pulses coherently interact with the medium and do not simultaneously overlap in the medium. These studies were carried out in various approximations, when a finite number of energy levels of the medium is taken into account, or when the pulse amplitude is small. In this paper, based on a direct numerical solution of the time dependent Schredinger equation without the indicated approximations, we study the possibility of ultrafast coherent control of populations and the creation of an EMIG by a pair of attosecond pulses in a multilevel resonant medium with a low density of particles. The medium is modeled using a one-dimensional rectangular potential well with infinitely high walls. The studies performed show the possibility of ultrafast coherent control of the properties of resonant media based on quantum wells using attosecond pulses. Keywords: electromagnetically induced gratings, coherent interaction, extremely short pulses, unipolar pulses, attosecond pulses, medium coherence.

The Migdal sudden perturbation approximation is used to solve the problem of excitation and ionization particles in a one-dimensional potential of zero radius with an extremely short pulse. There is only one energy level in such a one-dimensional the delta-shaped potential well. It is shown that for pulse durations shorter than the characteristic period of oscillations of the wave function of the particle in the bound state, the population of the level (and the probability of ionization) is determined by the ratio of the electric area of the pulse to the characteristic “scale” of the area inversely proportional to the size of localization of the particle in a bound state.

This talk revisits our recent results on population density grating formation and control in a resonant medium by extremely short light pulses down to single and subcycle durations.

We propose a simple and compact structure, consisting of a pair of nested quantum wells, as a source of a train of half-cycle pulses of few-fs duration when driven by an external electric field. We theoretically analyze the spatio-temporal dynamics of such a structure and demonstrate the possibility of the generation of ultrafast half-cycle pulse trains with ultra-high pulse repetition rates of tens of THz.

Using the numerical solution of the system of equations for the amplitudes of bound states, together with the wave equation, we theoretically consider stopped polarization pulse superradiance upon excitation by a pair of half-period attosecond pulses in a thin layer of a five-level resonant medium, the parameters of which are the same as in a hydrogen atom. It is shown that in the case of a multilevel medium, at certain parameters of the exciting field, the superradiance pulse near the medium is also a single-cycle pulse, the shape of which is determined by the first time derivative of the stopped polarization pulse, as in the case when approximate low-level and classical models were used to describe the response of the medium.

A comparison of the generation efficiency of short pulses with coherent and standard passive (incoherent) mode locking with a saturable absorber is made on the basis of numerical simulations. The advantage of the coherent mode locking in comparison to the standard mode locking in lasers with a saturable absorber is shown. Coherent mode locking in two-section lasers is based on the coherent interaction of the radiation with the absorbing and amplifying media. It allows the generation of ultrashort laser pulses with a duration shorter than the polarisation relaxation time T-2 of the absorbing and amplifying media. In conventional lasers with standard (incoherent) passive mode locking with a saturable absorber, the interaction of the laser pulses with the absorbing and amplifying media is incoherent and the duration of the generated pulses is always limited by the polarization relaxation time T-2 of the absorber and amplifier.

Light induced population difference gratings have numerous applications in modern optics. The conventional approach of creating them by using monochromatic laser radiation makes it virtually impossible to rapidly control their properties. In recent years, there has been active discussion about using ultra-short light pulses to control such gratings. We show the possibility of ultrafast control of population difference structures, such as dynamic microresonators and Bragg-like grating formations, by the collision of extremely short light pulses in a resonant medium. This work focuses on changes in microcavity properties based on the different parameters, such as the atomic density of the medium, the form of the pulses, and whether the medium is two- or three-level.

In the case of coherent interaction with a medium of extremely short light pulses (ESPs) having a carrier frequency and harmonic shape (when the pulse durations are shorter than the population relaxation times T1 and polarization relaxation time T2 of the medium), electromagnetically induced gratings (EMIGs) of the population difference, which have a pronounced harmonic dependence on the coordinates, may appear in it. These structures can occur when pulses do not overlap or overlap in the medium. Recently, the possibility of obtaining unipolar electromagnetic pulses in the optical and adjacent ranges of non-harmonic shape, for example, rectangular and triangular, with a duration less or comparable to the duration of the extremely-short pulse in this range, has attracted interest. In this work, using the numerical solution of the system of Maxwell-Bloch equations, we study EMIG formation by rectangular attosecond pulses in a two-level resonant medium. The possibility of inducing an EMIG of a non-harmonic shape in the form of light-induced channels microresonators, (microcavities) with a size of the order of the wavelength of the resonant transition of the medium, whose parameters can be controlled, for example, by the amplitude of the incident pulses, is shown. It has been suggested that it is possible to create an EMIG of a predetermined non-harmonic shape only in the general case of using unipolar pulses. Keywords: attosecond pulses, unipolar pulses, rectangular pulses, electromagnetically induced gratings, polarization waves, light-induced microresonators.

We review the recent progress in the theory and experiments on extremely short, few- and half-cycle electromagnetic pulses, including the study of their generation and registration, their features, and their impact on micro-objects and media.

A physical situation is proposed and theoretically analyzed, in which, in our opinion, it is possible to generate unipolar terahertz pulses with a large electric area. In this case, the gas in the tube is excited by a femtosecond IR laser pulse. In this case, the tube with gas is placed in a constant external electric field. The generation of a unipolar pulse is based on “three-step scheme”—ionization of gas atoms by a femtosecond pulse, subsequent acceleration of a free electron in a dc external field and subsequent annihilation of an electron upon collision with a tube wall or another atom (ion).

Recently, interest in extremely short unipolar electromagnetic pulses with non-harmonic shape (e.g. rectangular or triangular) is rising. Such pulses do not contain a carrier frequency and have an ultra-wide spectrum. Compared to conventional harmonic multicycle pulses, they are faster and more efficient in controlling the properties of quantum systems, which allows, in the future, for faster data transmission and processing. With coherent interaction of extremely short light pulses with a medium, formation and ultrafast control of population difference gratings and polarization structures are possible when the pulses both overlap and do not overlap in the medium. In this work, based on the numerical solution of Maxwell-Bloch equations, we demonstrate possible creation of a dynamic "microcavity"as a burst of population difference, arising from the collision of rectangular unipolar 1-femtosecond pulses of self-induced transparency in a two-level resonant medium. Potential to control the microcavities parameters (changing the depth, turning it on, erasing it, etc.) is demonstrated.

Фотоны обладают нулевой массой покоя и всегда движутся со скоростью света в вакууме, но не имеют дипольного момента. Атомы и молекулы, которые могут иметь постоянный или переменный дипольный момент, обладают массой и потому не могут двигаться со скоростью, равной скорости света или превосходящей ее. Поэтому вопрос об излучении подобных систем при их движении со скоростью света не ставился. Однако можно создать множество искусственных объектов (световых зайчиков, эффективных зарядов, импульсов тока и т.п.), которые могут двигаться со скоростью света и даже превышать ее. В таком случае они становятся источником электромагнитного излучения. В данной работе будет рассмотрено излучение уединенного импульса поляризации, который движется со скоростью света и значение амплитуды которого может оставаться постоянным или изменяться. Показано, что если амплитуда импульса поляризации не меняется, то такой объект не излучает вовне, т.е. излучаемое им поле остается полностью локализованным внутри движущегося уединенного импульса поляризации. Если же амплитуда такого объекта меняется со временем, то он начинает излучать назад. В этой ситуации могут быть получены униполярные импульсы необычной формы, например, прямоугольной.

A brief review of the authors' latest work in the field of extremely short electromagnetic pulses, including unipolar pulses, is presented. Фамилии авторов на английском: Rosanov N.N., Arkhipov M.V., Arkhipov R.M., Plachenov A.B., Tumakov D.A. Благодарностей грантам нет.

Photons have zero rest mass and always travel at the speed of light in a vacuum, but have no dipole moment. Atoms and molecules, which may have a constant or variable dipole moment, have mass and therefore cannot move at or above the speed of light. As a result, the radiation from such systems moving at the velocity of light was not considered. However, it is possible to create many artificial objects (light spots, effective charges, current pulses, etc.) that can travel at the speed of light and even exceed it. In this case, they become a source of electromagnetic radiation. In this work, the radiation of a solitary polarization pulse that travels at the speed of light and has a variable or constant amplitude is discussed. It is shown that if the amplitude does not change, then such an object does not radiate outward, i.e., the field emitted by it remains completely localized inside the moving polarization pulse. If the amplitude changes over time, then it begins to radiate backwards. In this case, unipolar pulses of an unusual shape, such as a rectangular one, can be obtained.