Intensity effects on impulsive excitation of ground surface coherent vibrational motion: A ‘V’ jump simulation

Abstract

Control of coherent ground surface dynamics is achieved by varying the intensity of a resonant ultrafast pump pulse. This pulse cycles amplitude between the ground and excited electronic surfaces resulting in a momentum kick and a coordinate dependent loss of amplitude, creating a nonstationary vibrational distribution: the ‘V’ jump. A qualitative change in composition occurs for intensities above π pulse conditions. The induced dynamics is observed by a delayed pulse which is dispersed and analyzed against time or as a two-dimensional frequency plot. Such an analysis makes it possible to distinguish the contributions of high vibrational harmonics to the dynamics.