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Abstract
The physics of intense laser-matter interactions is described by treating the light pulses classically, anticipating no need to access optical measurements beyond the classical limit. However, the quantum nature of the electromagnetic fields is always present. Here, we demonstrate that intense laser-atom interactions may lead to the generation of highly non-classical light states. This was achieved by using the process of high-harmonic generation in atoms, in which the photons of a driving laser pulse of infrared frequency are up-converted into photons of higher frequencies in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range. The quantum state of the fundamental mode after the interaction, when conditioned on the high-harmonic generation, is a so-called Schr\"odinger cat state, which corresponds to a superposition of two distinct coherent states: the initial state of the laser and the coherent state reduced in amplitude that results from the interaction with atoms. The results open the path for investigations towards the control of the non-classical states, exploiting conditioning approaches on physical processes relevant to high-harmonic generation.
Highlights
This was achieved by using the process of high-harmonic generation in atoms 4, 5, in which the photons of a driving laser pulse of infrared frequency are up-converted into photons of higher frequencies in the extreme ultraviolet spectral range
The quantum state of the fundamental mode after the interaction, when conditioned on the highharmonic generation, is a so-called Schrödinger cat state, which corresponds to a superposition of two distinct coherent states: the initial state of the laser and the coherent state reduced in amplitude that results from the interaction with atoms
The consequences of this result towards the generation of non-classical light states is coming from the projection of the fundamental mode on its part corresponding to the high–harmonic generation (HHG), which can be achieved experimentally by utilizing the Quantum Spectrometer (QS) approach [26, 27]
Summary
The above, rigorous and analytic expressions, constitute one of the main results of this work as they provide a direct solution to the problem concerning the quantum nature of light in strong-field laser-atom interaction, and the key parameters that can be used to control the properties of the light states exiting the atomic medium The consequences of this result towards the generation of non-classical light states is coming from the projection of the fundamental mode on its part corresponding to the HHG, which can be achieved experimentally by utilizing the QS approach [26, 27]. We demonstrate the quantum nature of the electromagnetic field in intense laser-atom interactions, and a method for producing optical Schrödinger “cat” states.
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