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Seminars
Laser harmonic generation in chiral media: a beat-wave approach
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R61 CR03 (RAL)
R61 CR03 (RAL)
Description
In recent years, we have developed a beat-wave approach to laser harmonic generation in nonlinear media. In this approach, all Fourier spectra take the form of regular grids [1]. This enables many extensions, such as the easy identification of harmonic frequency combs [2] and a natural connection with the symmetry theory of crystallography [3]. In this work, we extend our model to the nonlinear optical response of isotropic chiral media (molecules with left- and right-handed forms) driven by locally chiral light [4], in which the tip of the electric-field vector draws a chiral Lissajous figure in time. As in our earlier work on laser-solid interactions [1], the medium is represented by a zero-frequency (DC) driving mode. We show how a chiral DC mode (sensitive to the "handedness" of the medium) can be derived from the interaction of synthetic chiral light with a chiral medium. The beating between this DC mode and the EM fields then leads to a regular harmonic spectrum with alternating chiral and achiral modes. We will derive the criteria for these modes to overlap in Fourier space, so they can combine to yield enantio-sensitive interference patterns or line intensities. Finally, we will apply our framework to a variety of existing results [5-8] to validate its predictions. [1] Trines et al., Nature Comms. 15, 6878 (2024). [2] Trines et al., Phys. Rev. Res. 8, 013241 (2026). [3] Trines et al., arXiv:2507.08635 (2025). [4] Trines et al., arXiv:2604.08354 (2026). [5] Ayuso et al., Nature Phot. 13, 866 (2019). [6] Ayuso et al., Nature Comms. 12, 3951 (2021). [7] Mayer et al., Nature Phot. 18, 1155 (2024). [8] Vogwell et al., Science Adv. 9, eadj1429 (2023).
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About the speaker:
Raoul Trines is a Senior Research Scientist at the Central Laser Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) and a Visiting Researcher at Oxford University’s Physics Department. He obtained his PhD from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2003. His PhD research focused on laser acceleration of electrons in plasma. After working as a postdoctoral fellow in the Space Science and Technology Department at RAL (2003-2005), he has worked as a researcher at the Central Laser Facility since 2005, conducting theoretical and numerical research on laser-plasma interactions. His current research programme focuses on the nonlinear interaction of lasers with low-density plasma, especially laser-plasma instabilities such as Raman and Brillouin amplification. More recently, he has also explored the use of higher-order laser modes (Laguerre-Gaussian or Hermite-Gaussian) in laser-plasma instabilities and in laser-plasma high-harmonic generation.