Control of Spectral and Polarization Properties of Quasiunipolar Terahertz Pulses in Strongly Nonequilibrium Magnetized Plasma Channels

Abstract

The possibility to control both spectral and polarization properties of seed THz pulses in strongly nonequilibrium elongated magnetized plasma channels formed via intense UV femtosecond laser pulses in nitrogen (air) is analyzed. The physical mechanism of THz pulse control is based on cyclotron resonance, which can strongly reconstruct electrodynamical plasma features and, in particular, its ability to amplify the radiation of different spectral bands and polarization states. In particular, the formation of quasiunipolar pulses with a non-zero electric area and a specific polarization state is discussed. This study is based on the self-consistent solution of the kinetic Boltzmann equation for the electron velocity distribution function (EVDF) in the plasma channel and the second-order wave equation for THz pulse propagation.

Keywords

• terahertz generation from plasma
• electron velocity distribution function
• magnetized plasma
• cyclotron resonance
• quasiunipolar pulses
• nonequilibrium plasma