A quantum optical model for the dynamics of high harmonic generation

TL;DR

This paper models high harmonic generation (HHG) in a two-level atom driven by a strong laser pulse using a multimode Jaynes-Cummings-Paul framework, linking photon statistics to the harmonic spectrum and Floquet theory.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum optical model for HHG that captures photon statistics and spectral features, extending the Jaynes-Cummings-Paul model to multimode systems.

Findings

Photon number distribution is close to the Fourier spectrum of the radiation.

High harmonic spectra can be interpreted via Floquet quasi-energies.

Photon statistics show slightly super-Poissonian behavior.

Abstract

We investigate a two-level atom in the field of a strong laser pulse. The resulting time-dependent polarization is the source of a radiation the frequency components of which are essentially harmonics of the driving field's carrier frequency. The time evolution of this secondary radiation is analyzed in terms of the expectation values of the photon number operators for a large number of electromagnetic modes that are initially in the vacuum state. Our method is based on a multimode version of the Jaynes-Cummings-Paul model and can be generalized to different radiating systems as well. We show, that after the exciting pulse, the final distribution of the photon numbers is close to the conventional (Fourier transform-based) power spectrum of the secondary radiation. The details of the high harmonic spectra are also analyzed, for many-cycle excitations a clear physical interpretation can be given in terms of the Floquet quasi-energies. A first step towards the determination of the photon statistics of the HHG modes reveals states with slightly super-Poissonian distribution.