Edge-state and bulklike laser-induced correlation effects in high-harmonic generation from a linear chain

Abstract

We explore the significance of laser-induced correlation effects for high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in a linear chain model of a generic band gap material for both single-IR-pulse and VUV-pump--IR-probe HHG schemes. We examine various pump-pulse excitations, and categorize signatures of laser-induced correlation effects into two classes related to edge-state and bulklike effects. The relative importance of the edge-state ef- fects decreases with increasing system size, while the bulklike effects remain. We identify regimes where these effects may alter the harmonic yield by an order of magnitude, but also regions where they may be neglected. We characterize the underlying laser-induced dynamics of the correlational mechanisms, using both an electronic population description in a static field-free basis and a comparison to a band-structure picture with laser-induced time-dependent energy shifts. From this we provide a guideline on when to account for laser-induced electron correlations and give an estimate of the timescale in which the laser-induced electron-electron interactions can cause correlational changes in the harmonic spectra. We find this timescale to be a few tens of femtoseconds.