Dynamic Core Polarization in High Harmonic Generation from Solids: The Example of MgO Crystals

Liang Li, Yinfu Zhang, Pengfei Lan, Tengfei Huang, Xiaosong Zhu, Chunyang Zhai, Ke Yang, Lixin He, Qingbin Zhang, Wei Cao, and Peixiang Lu
Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 187401 – Published 6 May 2021
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Abstract

Previously, the strong field processes in solids have always been explained by the single-active-electron (SAE) model with a frozen core excluding the fluctuation of background electrons. In this work, we demonstrate the strong field induced dynamic core polarization effect and propose a model for revealing its role in high harmonic generation (HHG) from solids. We show that the polarized core induces an additional polarization current beyond the SAE model based on the frozen cores. It gives a new mechanism for HHG and leads to new anisotropic structures, which are experimentally observed with MgO. Our experiments indicate that the influences of dynamic core polarization on HHG are obvious for both linearly and elliptically polarized laser fields. Our work establishes the bridge between the HHG and the dynamic changes of the effective many-electron interaction in solids, which paves the way to probe the ultrafast electron dynamics.

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  • Received 19 November 2020
  • Accepted 8 April 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.187401

© 2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

Liang Li1, Yinfu Zhang1, Pengfei Lan1,*, Tengfei Huang1, Xiaosong Zhu1, Chunyang Zhai1, Ke Yang1, Lixin He1, Qingbin Zhang1, Wei Cao1, and Peixiang Lu1,2,3,†

  • 1Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
  • 2Hubei Key Laboratory of Optical Information and Pattern Recognition, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
  • 3CAS Center for Excellence in Ultra-intense Laser Science, Shanghai 201800, China

  • *Corresponding author. pengfeilan@hust.edu.cn
  • Corresponding author. lupeixiang@hust.edu.cn

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Issue

Vol. 126, Iss. 18 — 7 May 2021

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