Torus Knot Angular Momentum in Twisted Attosecond Pulses from High Harmonic Generation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a geometric method to analyze torus knot angular momentum in high harmonic generation driven by bicircular twisted Laguerre-Gaussian beams, revealing new insights into the symmetry and invariance parameters of the process.

Contribution

It develops a geometric approach to determine invariance parameters from high harmonic radiation, linking them to torus knots and providing a novel interpretation of TKAM in HHG.

Findings

Invariance parameters $ au$ and $\gamma$ can be extracted from high harmonic radiation.

Torus knots derived from $ au$ and $\gamma$ can be mapped onto each other.

The method aligns with previous results and enhances understanding of TKAM symmetry in HHG.

Abstract

Bicircular twisted Laguerre-Gaussian beams possess a definite torus knot angular momentum (TKAM) as a new form of angular momentum. TKAM is conserved in nonlinear atomic processes such as high harmonic generation and can be classified by a time delay parameter $\tau$ and a coordination parameter $\gamma$. These parameters are defined by the respective projected orbital angular momentum and the energy of the two superimposed Laguerre-Gaussian beams. We derive a consistent geometric method to determine $\tau$ and $\gamma$ from the driving beam as well as from the high harmonic radiation. This method relates both invariance parameters ($\tau$ and $\gamma$) to the emitted high harmonic radiation. Therefore, $\tau$ and $\gamma$ can be read off of two different torus knots. These knots can be constructed from the spatio-temporal evolution of the electric field of the respective high harmonic radiation or the driving beam. We demonstrate the classification of the invariance parameters for a planar atomic gas target irradiated by bicircular Laguerre-Gaussian beams explicitly. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the respective torus knots determined by $\tau$ and $\gamma$ can be mapped onto each other within minor modifications. This geometric method yields a different way to interpret the invariance parameters $\tau$ and $\gamma$ as well as their underlying relation compared to a purely formal derivation. The investigations presented in this work are in good agreement with previous findings and provide insight into the dynamical symmetry of TKAM in the context of high harmonic generation induced by bicircular twisted Laguerre-Gaussian beams.