26–31 Jul 2026
Luskin Conference Center, UCLA
US/Pacific timezone

Wavefront shaping of terahertz radiation using two-color flying-focus pulses

30 Jul 2026, 17:00
20m
Legacy A (Luskin)

Legacy A

Luskin

To be considered for Working Group talk A6-Working group # 6

Speaker

Amanda Elliott (Laboratory for Laser Energetics)

Description

Properly phased two-color laser pulses drive photoionization currents that emit broadband THz radiation. With conventional two-color pulses, the ionization front travels at a nearly constant superluminal velocity, generating THz radiation with conical wavefronts at a Cherenkov-like angle. Here we show that the dynamic intensity peak of a two-color ultrashort flying-focus pulse can be used to control the shape of the THz wavefronts. Simulations demonstrate that non-uniform motion of the intensity peak and the ionization front it drives result in a time-dependent emission angle that determines the wavefront shape. A decelerating intensity peak, in particular, enables the generation of THz radiation with parabolic phase fronts that are well suited for collection and focusing.

Working group WG6

Author

Amanda Elliott (Laboratory for Laser Energetics)

Co-authors

Hunter Markland (Laboratory for Laser Energetics) Jeremy Pigeon (Laboratory for Laser Energetics) John Palastro (Laboratory for Laser Energetics) Kyle Miller (Laboratory for Laser Energetics)

Presentation materials

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