Bessel Terahertz Pulses from Superluminal Laser Plasma Filaments

Zhelin Zhang; Jiayang Zhang; Yanping Chen; Tianhao Xia; Linzheng Wang; Bonan Han; Feng He; Zhengming Sheng; Jie Zhang

doi:10.34133/2022/9870325

Ultrafast Science (Jan 2022)

Bessel Terahertz Pulses from Superluminal Laser Plasma Filaments

Zhelin Zhang,
Jiayang Zhang,
Yanping Chen,
Tianhao Xia,
Linzheng Wang,
Bonan Han,
Feng He,
Zhengming Sheng,
Jie Zhang

Affiliations

Zhelin Zhang: Tsung-Dao lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Jiayang Zhang: Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Yanping Chen: Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Tianhao Xia: Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Linzheng Wang: Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Bonan Han: Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Feng He: Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Zhengming Sheng: Tsung-Dao lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NG, UK
Jie Zhang: Tsung-Dao lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34133/2022/9870325
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 2022

Abstract

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Terahertz radiation with a Bessel beam profile is demonstrated experimentally from a two-color laser filament in air, which is induced by tailored femtosecond laser pulses with an axicon. The temporal and spatial distributions of Bessel rings of the terahertz radiation are retrieved after being collected in the far field. A theoretical model is proposed, which suggests that such Bessel terahertz pulses are produced due to the combined effects of the inhomogeneous superluminal filament structure and the phase change of the two-color laser components inside the plasma channel. These two effects lead to wavefront crossover and constructive/destructive interference of terahertz radiation from different plasma sources along the laser filament, respectively. Compared with other methods, our technique can support the generation of Bessel pulses with broad spectral bandwidth. Such Bessel pulses can propagate to the far field without significant spatial spreading, which shall provide new opportunities for terahertz applications.

Published in Ultrafast Science

ISSN: 2765-8791 (Online)
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Science: Physics; Technology: Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General): Applied optics. Photonics
Website: https://spj.sciencemag.org/journals/ultrafastscience/

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