21–26 Jun 2026
U. Ottawa - Learning Crossroads (CRX) Building
America/Toronto timezone
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Quantum Dial for High-Harmonic Generation

22 Jun 2026, 10:30
15m
U. Ottawa - Learning Crossroads (CRX) Building

U. Ottawa - Learning Crossroads (CRX) Building

100 Louis-Pasteur Private, Ottawa, ON K1N 9N3
Oral (Non-Student) / Orale (non-étudiant(e)) Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Canada / Physique atomique, moléculaire et photonique, Canada (DAMOPC-DPAMPC) (DAMOPC) M1-10 | (DPAMPC)

Speaker

Lu Wang (University of Ottawa)

Description

High-harmonic generation (HHG) is a highly nonlinear optical process that typically requires an intense laser to trigger emissions at integer multiples of the driving field frequency. However, the strong fields required for conventional HHG inevitably perturb the system, limiting its use as a nondestructive spectroscopic probe. Recent advances in bright squeezed vacuum (BSV) sources have created opportunities to drive HHG with quantum fields alone. In this work, we demonstrate a regime in which the light-matter interactions can be controlled and tuned using a weak classical field, whose pulse energy is two orders of magnitude lower than that in standard HHG-perturbed by an even weaker quantum field, such as BSV. This approach opens new avenues for nonlinear spectroscopy of materials while substantially suppressing strong laser-induced damage, distortions, and heating. We show that a BSV pulse containing less than 5% of the classical driving energy can act as an 'optical dial', allowing tuning of the nonlinear emission spectrum, emission angular dependence, and ionization.

Keyword-1 Bright Squeezed Vaccum
Keyword-2 High Harmonic Generation

Authors

Lu Wang (University of Ottawa) Dr Andrew Parks Dr Graeme Bart Mr Adam Thorpe Dr Giulio Vampa Prof. Thomas Brabec

Presentation materials