Field-driven helicity in solid-state high-harmonic generation

TL;DR

This study demonstrates how polarization-crafted laser pulses can deterministically control the helicity of high-order harmonics in solids, independent of material properties, revealing new ways to manipulate light-matter interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a method for continuous, field-driven control of harmonic helicity in solids using polarization-crafted beams, independent of material symmetry or topology.

Findings

Harmonic helicity can be tuned from linear to circular by adjusting pulse delay.

The approach is robust across different materials with varying symmetry and topology.

Orthogonal pulse configuration breaks dynamical symmetry, enabling forbidden harmonic generation.

Abstract

The polarization state of light plays a central role in strong-field light--matter interactions and is widely used to probe electronic structure in solids via high-order harmonic generation (HHG). In particular, helicity-resolved HHG has been interpreted as a fingerprint of crystal symmetry and topology. Here, we demonstrate deterministic and continuous control of harmonic helicity in solids using polarization-crafted beams, formed by two orthogonally polarized pulses with a controlled time delay. By tuning this delay, the polarization state of individual harmonics can be driven from linear to circular, independent of the material under investigation. We show that this behavior is robust across systems with distinct symmetry and topology, and originates from the sub-cycle modulation of the light--matter interaction mediated by the dipole coupling. Furthermore, the orthogonal configuration allows to break the dynamical symmetry of the light-matter interaction which is manifested in the generation of otherwise forbidden harmonics under standard selection rules.. These results establish harmonic helicity as a field-controlled observable rather than a direct material fingerprint.