Enhanced Harmonic Generation from M=1 aligned Ar+

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that aligning Ar+ ions with M=1 significantly enhances harmonic generation yield under specific laser conditions, revealing the importance of initial state orientation and multichannel interferences.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of harmonic generation from M=1 aligned Ar+ using time-dependent R-matrix theory, highlighting the impact of initial magnetic quantum number on HG efficiency.

Findings

M=1 alignment yields 4 times more harmonic output than M=0.

HG primarily originates from channels linked to the (3)Pe threshold.

Multichannel and multielectron interferences suppress HG more for M=1.

Abstract

We investigate harmonic generation (HG) from ground-state Ar+ aligned with M=1 at a laser wavelength of 390-nm and intensity of 4x10(14) Wcm-2. Using time-dependent R-matrix theory, we find that an initial state with magnetic quantum number M=1 provides a 4-fold increase in harmonic yield over M=0. HG arises primarily from channels associated with the (3)Pe threshold of Ar2+, in contrast with M=0 for which channels associated with the excited, (1)De threshold dominate HG. Multichannel and multielectron interferences lead to a more marked suppression of HG for M=1 than M=0.