Multi-level effects in the high-order harmonic generation driven by intense frequency-comb laser fields**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11374239, 21203144, and 11074199), the Doctoral Fund of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 20120201120056), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China.

Abstract

High harmonic generation (HHG) driven by intense frequency-comb laser fields can be dramatically enhanced via multiphoton resonance by tuning the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) shift, without increasing the driving intensity. However, the multiphoton-resonant enhancement (MRE) factor in the realistic atomic hydrogen is much smaller than that in a two-level system. To study the deviation, we present a theoretical investigation of the multiphoton resonance dynamics of three-level systems driven by intense frequency-comb laser fields. The many-mode Floquet theorem (MMFT) is employed to provide a nonperturbative and exact treatment of the interaction between the quantum system and the laser fields. The investigations show that the dipole interaction of a two-level system with the third level affects the multiphoton resonance dynamics and enhances the HHG spectra. It is the dipole interaction of the excited level of the two-level system with other levels that results in the smaller MRE factor in the realistic atomic system.