Generation of an Attosecond Pulse Based on Collective Spontaneous Radiation Emission of a Layer of Three-Level Atoms Excited by a Pair of Unipolar Pulses

Abstract

A method of coherent controlling the polarization of a medium has been proposed recently for the generation of extremely short pulses. The method is based on the excitation of atomic polarization oscillations and their subsequent stop using a pair of ultrashort pulses. The so-called stopped pulse of the polarization of a medium, which arises in the interval between its excitation and deexcitation, can be a source of an extremely short radiation pulse. In this work, the above-indicated possibility of generation of an isolated attosecond ultraviolet pulse in a three-level resonant medium whose parameters correspond to a hydrogen atom excited by a pair of unipolar X-ray pulses is considered theoretically. In this case, the generation mechanism is of the antenna-type, that is, it is caused by the collective spontaneous emission of pre-phased atoms in the absence of a noticeable decay of their free polarization.