Nonlinear optics in the X-ray regime: nonlinear waves and self-action effects

doi:10.1364/OE.16.008324

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Nonlinear optics in the X-ray regime: nonlinear waves and self-action effects

C. Conti, A. Fratalocchi, G. Ruocco, and F. Sette »View Author Affiliations

Optics Express, Vol. 16, Issue 12, pp. 8324-8331 (2008)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.16.008324

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▸ Article Outline
– Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Model and theoretical approach
3. Nonlinear waves and the electron power
4. Self-defocusing and losses
5. Conclusion
– References and links

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Abstract

We study the nonlinear refraction of X-rays in highly ionized condensed matter by using a classical model of a cold electron plasma in a lattice of still ions coupled with Maxwell equations. We discuss the existence and stability of nonlinear waves. As a real-world example, we consider beam self-defocusing in crystalline materials (B, C, Li, Na). We predict that nonlinear processes become comparable to the linear ones for focused beams with powers of the order of mc³/r_o (≈10 GW), the classical electron power. As a consequence, nonlinear phenomena are expected in currently exploited X-ray Free-Electron Lasers and in their future developments.

1. Introduction

Understanding nonlinear processes at the smallest accessible spatio-temporal scale is a frontier of modern research. In this respect, the new generation of X-ray Free-Electron Lasers (X-ray FEL) opens unprecedented possibilities: an example is nonlinear optics in the X-ray region (see e.g. [1

R. Dendy, Plasma physics: an in introductory course (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996).

, 2

T. Pfeifer, C. Spielmann, and G. Gerber, “Femtosecond x-ray science,” Rep. Prog. Phys. 69, 443–505 (2006). [CrossRef]

]). The new X-ray FEL are expected to deliver femtosecond pulses in the wavelength range 0.05 nm - 1 nm with peak power greater than 100 GW (see e.g. [3

Techical Design Report of the European XFEL, DESY (2006-097). http://xfel.desy.de/tdr/tdr.

]). This corresponds to intensities up to 10²³ W cm^-2 for focused beams with 10nm spot-size. Even not taking into account relativistic effects and particle production (expected at intensities of ≈10²⁶ W cm^-2 [4

H. Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1981).

, 5

R. Alkofer, M. B. Hecht, C. D. Roberts, S. M. Schmidt, and D. V. Vinnik, “Pair Creation and an X-Ray Free Electron Laser,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 193902-(4) (2001). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

]), the underlying fundamental physical processes are in many respects unknown. Photons at the atomic-scale wavelength (λ≈0.1 nm) have macroscopic propagation lengths in condensed materials (even considering photoelectric absorption) and are sensitive to the granular structure of matter [6

R. Moshammer, Y. H. Jiang, L. Foucar, A. Rudenko, Th. Ergler, C. D. Schrter, S. Ldemann, K. Zrost, D. Fischer, J. Titze, T. Jahnke, M. Schffler, T. Weber, R. Drner, T. J. M. Zouros, A. Dorn, T. Ferger, K. U. Khnel, S. Dsterer, R. Treusch, P. Radcliffe, E. Plnjes, and J. Ullrich, “Few-Photon Multiple Ionization of Ne and Ar by Strong Free-Electron-Laser Pulses,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 203001-(4) (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

, 7

H. Wabnitz, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, T. Laarmann, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, and T. Mller, “Multiple Ionization of Rare Gas Atoms Irradiated with Intense VUV Radiation,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 023001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

, 8

Y. Nabekawa, H. Hasegawa, E. J. Takahashi, and K. Midorikawa, “Production of Doubly Charged Helium Ions by Two-Photon Absorption of an Intense Sub-10-fs Soft X-Ray Pulse at 42 eV Photon Energy,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 043001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

, 9

T. Laarmann, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, H. Wabnitz, and T. Mller, “Photoionization of helium atoms irradiated with intense vacuum ultraviolet free-electron laser light. Part I. Experimental study of multiphoton and single-photon processes,” Phys. Rev. A 72, 023409-(8) (2005). [CrossRef]

, 10

E. P. Benis, D. Charalambidis, T. N. Kitsopoulos, G. D. Tsakiris, and P. Tzallas, “Two-photon double ionization of rare gases by a superposition of harmonics,” Phys. Rev. A 74, 051402(R)-(4) (2006). [CrossRef]

, 11

T. Sekikawa, A. Kosuge, T. Kanai, and S. Watanabe, “Nonlinear optics in the extreme ultraviolet,” Nature (London) 432, 605–608 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

]. Therefore, the physics of intense X-ray beams have to take into account nonlinear effects accumulating along large propagation distances in inhomogeneous environments. Within a general perspective, high-fluence X-ray photon bursts rapidly ionize the material, and the basic nonlinear processes are due to the hydrodynamics of the generated electron plasma (see e.g. [1

R. Dendy, Plasma physics: an in introductory course (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996).

, 4

H. Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1981).

, 12

N. Bloembergen, R. K. Chang, S. S. Jha, and C. H. Lee, “Optical Second-Harmonic Generation in Reflection from Media with Inversion Symmetry,” Phys. Rev. 174, 813–822 (1968). [CrossRef]

, 13

S. S. Jha and C. S. Warke, “Nonlinear electromagnetic response of Bloch electrons in a magnetic field,” Nuovo Cimento 53B, 120–135 (1968).

, 14

A. Nazarkin, S. Podorov, I. Uschmann, E. Frster, and R. Sauerbrey, “Nonlinear optics in the angstrom regime: Hard-x-ray frequency doubling in perfect crystals,” Phys. Rev. A 67, 041804-(4) (2003). [CrossRef]

, 15

S. S. Jha and J. W. F. Woo, “Nonlinear Response of Bound Electrons to X Rays,” Phys. Rev. B 5, 4210–4212 (1972). [CrossRef]

] and references therein). At hard X-ray wavelengths, the linear refractive index (due to plasma) differs from unity by an amount δ of the order of 10^-5. In this paper we investigate the nonlinear contribution to δ, which is an issue of high relevance to prepare the future science of X-ray FEL’s. In the early days of nonlinear optics, Bloembergen and others [16

N. Bloembergen, “Wave propagation in nonlinear electromagnetic media,” Proceedings of the IEEE 51, 124–131 (1963). [CrossRef]

, 13

S. S. Jha and C. S. Warke, “Nonlinear electromagnetic response of Bloch electrons in a magnetic field,” Nuovo Cimento 53B, 120–135 (1968).

] reported on similar analyses; here we extend those works in a two-fold way: (i) we largely generalize previous results beyond the lowest order approximation and by considering realistic aggregates of atomic systems, and (ii) we particularize to real world experiments with reference to the expected performances of the modern X-ray FEL in terms of power, losses and beam divergence. Within a purely classical formulation, we show that the nonlinear contribution to the index of refraction, expressed as n ₂ I for low intensity I (with n ₂ being an effective Kerr coefficient [17

R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics (Academic Press, New York, 2002).

]) becomes of the order of δ for diffraction-limited focused beams with powers of 10 GW (a basically wavelength-independent result, even including photo-absorption). With reference to the current experiments at FLASH [18

R. Neutze, R. Wouts, D. Spoel, E. Weckert, and J. Hajdu, “Potential for biomolecular imaging with femtosecond X-ray pulses,” Nature (London) 406, 752–757 (2000). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

], this effect can be observed for tightly focused beams. We evaluate the third order nonlinear susceptibility of the X-ray induced plasma and demonstrate the existence of stable nonlinear waves. Finally, we suggest a realistic experiment by quantifying the self-defocusing of an X-ray beam in real crystals (B,C,Li,Na).

2. Model and theoretical approach

X-ray propagation is described by Maxwell equations coupled to the hydrodynamic equations for a plasma of free electrons [12

N. Bloembergen, R. K. Chang, S. S. Jha, and C. H. Lee, “Optical Second-Harmonic Generation in Reflection from Media with Inversion Symmetry,” Phys. Rev. 174, 813–822 (1968). [CrossRef]

, 1

R. Dendy, Plasma physics: an in introductory course (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996).

\nabla \times h = j + ε_{0} \partial_{t} e,

\nabla \times e = {- μ}_{0} \partial_{t} h,

\partial_{t} n + \nabla \cdot (n v) = 0,

(\partial_{t} + v \cdot \nabla) v + \frac{q}{m} (e + μ_{0} v \times h) = 0,

(1)

being e, h the time-dependent electromagnetic fields, v the electron mean velocity and j=-qn v the current generated by the charge density q(n-n ₀), with n and n ₀ the particle density of electrons and ions, respectively. We make the assumption that high energy photons instantaneously (i.e. at the attosecond scale) ionize the material, so that the electromagnetic field propagates in a periodically distributed cold plasma [14

, 4

H. Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1981).

]. The ion cores with density n ₀, in other terms, are assumed to be “frozen”; they only form the crystal lattice. In our picture, the XFEL electric field amplitude is sufficiently high to heavily perturb the nuclear electric field and induce multiple ionization. We reduce (1) to an integrable ordinary differential equation (we defer extensive mathematical details to future publications); our procedure begins by writing the current as j=j _L+j _Δ, being j _L a linear contribution and j _Δ an arbitrary nonlinear term. In the linear regime j=j _L and the Fourier domain (∂ _t →-iω), Eqs. (1) are written in the canonical form:

\nabla \times \tilde{H} = - i ω ε_{0} (1 - \frac{ω_{α}^{2}}{ω^{2}}) \tilde{E}, \nabla \times \tilde{E} = i ω μ_{0} \tilde{H},

(2)

with ω ² _α =q ² n ₀/mε ₀. As detailed below, under typical experimental conditions (λ≈0.1 nm and n ₀ ≈10³⁰m^-3), the term 1-δ, with δ=ω ² _α/ω ², behaves as an effective periodic dielectric constant ε_r (r), whose period is settled by the crystal lattice constant a. The spectrum of such a periodic system is then found by applying the Floquet-Bloch theorem [19

K. Sakoda, Optical Properties of Photonic Crystals (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 2001).

]. The eigenmodes of (2) are Bloch modes Ẽ_k , H̃_k satisfying the Hermitian eigenvalue problem:

ℒ_{H} {\tilde{H}}_{k} = {(\frac{ω}{c})}^{2} {\tilde{H}}_{k}

(3)

being

ℒ_{H} = \nabla \times \frac{1}{ε_{0} ε_{r}} \nabla \times

and ω(k) the medium dispersion relation. Actually, only magnetic modes are to be calculated since Ẽ_k depends on H̃_k via iωε ₀ ε_r Ẽ_k =∇×H̃_k . Owing to the smallness of the dielectric perturbation ω ² _α/ω ², the spectrum 𝓢={H̃_k , Ẽ_k , ω(k)} of the canonical structure is completely determined the representation theory of space groups [19

K. Sakoda, Optical Properties of Photonic Crystals (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 2001).

, 20

T. Inui, Y. Tanabe, and Y. Onodera, Group theory and its applications in Physics (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 1990). [CrossRef]

]. Figure 1(a) shows the first Brillouin zone for the Face Centered Cubic (FCC) lattice, where the Brillouin zone is a truncated octahedron of height 4π/a. The dispersion relation is constructed from the free-space relation ω(k)=c|k|, folded over itself according to the dispersion periodicity ω(k)=ω(k+G) [20

T. Inui, Y. Tanabe, and Y. Onodera, Group theory and its applications in Physics (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 1990). [CrossRef]

], being G an arbitrary integer translation of the reciprocal lattice unit vectors (Fig. 1). No gap opens in the wave spectrum and Bloch modes exist for all frequencies ω. Each k point defines a set of degenerate plane waves, which possess the same eigenfrequency ω(k) in the absence of periodicity. If properly combined, these waves form a basis for Bloch modes, whose expression is provided by the theory of projection operators [20

T. Inui, Y. Tanabe, and Y. Onodera, Group theory and its applications in Physics (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 1990). [CrossRef]

]. Table 1 displays z-propagating magnetic Bloch modes for ωa/2πc<1 (e.g., for λ>a) for the FCC and the simple cubic (SC) lattice. Since Bloch modes are constructed from eigenwaves of the free-space, they are always doubly degenerate (i.e., they are either x or y polarized).

Once the spectrum 𝓢 of the canonical structure is known, the reduction of (1) is performed by exploiting the following identity (we let e=2ℜ[Eexp(-iωt)] and h=2ℜ[Hexp(-iωt)]:

\nabla \cdot (E \times {\tilde{H}}^{*} + {\tilde{E}}^{*} \times H) + j_{Δ} \cdot {\tilde{E}}^{*} = 0 .

(4)

Table 1. Expression of Bloch modes for SC and FCC lattices.

Point	Bloch mode H_k
Δ_[0,0,ε]	$\hat{x} \exp [- i \frac{π}{a} (ε z)]$ , $\hat{y} \exp [- i \frac{π}{a} (ε z)]$
x_[0,0,1]	$\hat{x} \sin (\frac{π}{a} z)$ , $\hat{y} \sin (\frac{π}{a} z)$
x_[0,0,1]	$\hat{x} \cos (\frac{π}{a} z)$ , $\hat{y} \cos (\frac{π}{a} z)$
Δ_[0,0,ε+1]	$\hat{x} \exp [- i \frac{π}{a} (ε z)]$ , $\hat{y} \exp [- i \frac{π}{a} (ε z)]$

Equation (4) is a form of the reciprocity theorem of Maxwell equations [21

C. A. Balanis, Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics (Jhon Wiley & Sons, Toronto, 1989).

] and does not contain any approximation, as it can be verified by direct substitution. In the absence of nonlinear effects (j _Δ=0) Eq. (4) is identically zero due to the linear relation between j _L and the electric field; conversely when j _Δ≠0 Eq. (4) allows to derive an exact evolution equation for the field. This requires the relationship between the current shift j _Δ and E and H. To this aim we solve the plasma fluid equations by an iterative expansion in the field components: the overall current is written as j=j ⁽¹⁾+j ⁽³⁾, where j ⁽¹⁾=j _L=(iq ² n ₀/ωm)E and j ⁽³⁾=j _Δ accounts for the third order nonlinearity. The second order terms can be neglected as far as the input direction does not satisfies phase matching conditions[14

]; correspondingly the phase-effect in the forward scattering (detailed below) is negligible. By letting

n = n_{0} + 2 ℜ [n^{(1)} e^{- i ω t}] + 2 ℜ [n^{(2)} e^{- 2 i ω t}],

v = 2 ℜ [V^{(1)} e^{- i ω t}] + 2 ℜ [V^{(2)} e^{- 2 i ω t}],

(5)

we have (E ²≡E·E):

V^{(1)} = \frac{- i q}{ω m} E, n^{(1)} = - \frac{q}{ω^{2} m} \nabla n_{0} \cdot E

(6)

V^{(2)} = \frac{{iq}^{2}}{4 ω^{3} m^{2}} \nabla E^{2}

(7)

n^{(2)} = \frac{q^{2}}{2 ω^{4} m^{2}} [\nabla . (E^{2} \nabla n_{0}) + \frac{1}{4} \nabla . (n_{0} \nabla E^{2})] .

(8)

The nonlinear current is given by j ⁽³⁾=-qn ⁽²⁾[V ⁽¹⁾]*-q[n ⁽¹⁾]*V ⁽²⁾. In the final expression of j there are terms including ∇n ₀, which account for out-of-axis nonlinear Bragg scattering.

3. Nonlinear waves and the classical electron power

In the following we will focus on the direct beam by retaining only terms that induce self-phase modulation in the input propagation direction. It is worthwhile remarking that the validity of our results is not limited to periodical samples: the features of the crystal lattice mainly influence diffracted orders, while the nonlinear effects on the forward propagating beam are expected to be observed for samples with comparable spatially-averaged charge density 〈n ₀〉, i.e., independently on the specific lattice structure. Correspondingly, we only retain 〈n ₀〉 terms in Eq. (6) and obtain

j^{(3)} = \frac{- {iq}^{4} 〈 n_{0} 〉}{8 ω^{5} m^{3}} E^{*} \nabla^{2} E^{2} .

(9)

We consider a z-propagating beam with frequency below the first turning point of the band structure (see Fig. 1 for a/λ<1); in this case the treatment is simplified by the fact that only one Bloch function is involved. By exploiting Table 1, the field can be written as:

E = \sqrt{2 η_{0}} A (z) \hat{y} e^{ikz},

H = - \sqrt{\frac{2}{η_{0}}} A (z) \hat{x} e^{ikz},

(10)

Fig. 1. (Color online) X-ray electromagnetic band-structure for a FCC lattice (the inset shows the first Brillouin zone).

where

η_{0} = \sqrt{\frac{μ_{0}}{ε_{0}}}

is the vacuum impedance. Bloch functions are normalized such that |A(z)|² yields the beam intensity; correspondingly, Eq. (4) becomes

\frac{d A}{d z} = \frac{{iq}^{4} η_{0}^{2} 〈 n_{0} 〉}{8 ω^{5} m^{3}} A^{*} e^{- 2 ikz} \frac{d^{2}}{{dz}^{2}} (A^{2} e^{2 ikz}) .

(11)

We remark that Eq. (11) differs from the standard SPM equation (see e.g. [16

N. Bloembergen, “Wave propagation in nonlinear electromagnetic media,” Proceedings of the IEEE 51, 124–131 (1963). [CrossRef]

, 17

R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics (Academic Press, New York, 2002).

, 22

Y. S. Kivshar and G. P. Agrawal, Optical Solitons: from Fibers to Photonic Crystals (Academic Press, San Diego, 2003).

]) and holds true for rapidly varying amplitudes A(z). Its solution is found as A(z)=A ₀exp(ik_nlz), where k_nl is the nonlinear contribution to the wave-vector and satisfies

k_{nl} + \frac{q^{4} η_{0}^{2} A_{0}^{2}}{2 ω^{5} m^{3}} {(k + k_{nl})}^{2} = 0 .

(12)

Eq. (12) has always two real-valued solutions, as shown in Fig. 2(a) with γ≡η ² ₀ q ⁴〈n ₀〉/8m ³ ω ⁵. At variance with standard SPM [17

R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics (Academic Press, New York, 2002).

, 22

Y. S. Kivshar and G. P. Agrawal, Optical Solitons: from Fibers to Photonic Crystals (Academic Press, San Diego, 2003).

], the largest solution [continuous line in Fig. 2(a)] does not linearly grow with the power A ² ₀ and asymptotically tends to -k from above. This wave is forward propagating. Conversely, the other solution provides k+k_nl <0 [dot-dashed line in Fig.2(a)], representing a backward propagating wave. These two solutions at large powers have the same wave-vector; this can involve a nonlinear coupling between them, which strongly relies on the material lattice and will be considered in future work.

The stability of the two nonlinear waves is found by letting A(z)=[A ₀+a ₁(z)]exp(ik_nlz), with a ₁(z) a complex valued function. At the lowest order in a ₁(z) we obtain

2 γ A_{0}^{2} \frac{d^{2} a_{1}}{{dz}^{2}} + i [1 + 8 γ A_{0}^{2} (k + k_{nl})] \frac{{da}_{1}}{dz} +

[k_{nl} + 8 A_{0}^{2} {(k + k_{nl})}^{2} γ] a_{1} + 4 γ {(k + k_{nl})}^{2} a_{1}^{*} = 0 .

(13)

While looking for exponentially amplified disturbances a ₁∝exp(αz), straightforward algebra leads to the conclusion that α is zero or imaginary for any value of A ₀. The found solutions are therefore always stable. The existence of stable nonlinear plane waves allows to identify an effective refractive index n, which depends on the beam intensity. The latter can be written as n=1-δ+iβ+k_nl /k, being β the absorption coefficient. The term k_nl /k conversely accounts for the nonlinear wave-vector; at the lowest order in the intensity for the forward propagating solution it reads k_nl /k=-|n ₂|I=-4γkI, with n ₂=-4kγ<0 the effective Kerr coefficient. To determine the values of I for which nonlinear effects become relevant, a noticeable figure of merit is the ratio between n ₂ I and δ that, after simple algebra, is written as

Fig. 2. (Color online). (a) Solution of the nonlinear dispersion relation for the SPM Eq.(11), the continuous (dot-dashed) line is the forward (backward) propagating wave, the horizontal dashed line corresponds to the asymptotic value k_nl =-k; (b) divergence Vs input peak intensity I ₀ in adimensional units.

Fig. 3. (Color online). (a) Atomic- and (b) electronic-loss-limited intensity for nonlinear defocusing.

𝒩 \equiv \frac{∣ n_{2} ∣ I}{δ} = \frac{λ^{2} I}{2 π P_{0}},

(14)

with P ₀=mc ³/r ₀≅8.8 GW being the classical electron power and r ₀=q ²/4πε ₀ mc ² the electron radius. Equation (14) states that if a beam of power P ₀ is focalized down to the diffraction limit (spot area of the order πλ ²) then 𝒩≅0.5, i.e. the plasma nonlinear contribution is of the same magnitude of the linear one. This implies that nonlinear effects could be observed in the current FLASH experiments at DESY [6

, 18

R. Neutze, R. Wouts, D. Spoel, E. Weckert, and J. Hajdu, “Potential for biomolecular imaging with femtosecond X-ray pulses,” Nature (London) 406, 752–757 (2000). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

] (where P≅10 GW) for tightly focused beams (waist≈100 nm), and certainly they will be observable with the next generation of X-ray FEL.

4. Self-defocusing and losses

We estimate the magnitude of nonlinear effects in the direct beam with reference to the simple case of self-defocusing. We consider a linearly polarized forward z-propagating beam with spatial profile E∝exp(-r ² _⊥/w ² ₀) focused on a sample (here r ² _⊥=x ²+y ² and w ₀ is the beam waist). The field is expected to display a power-dependent divergence in the far field. For an input intensity A ² ₀(r _⊥)=I ₀ exp(-2r ² _⊥/w ² ₀), the output beam acquires an additional transverse nonlinear phase profile given by Φ_nl(r _⊥)=β[A ₀(r _⊥)]L, being L the sample length. To the lowest order in the beam peak intensity I ₀, the forward propagating solution of Eq. (12) gives β≅-4k ² γA ² ₀(r _⊥). Since the most pronounced nonlinear effects are in proximity of the beam axis, one has

Φ_{nl} (r_{⊥}) ≅ - 4 k^{2} γ {LI}_{0} (1 - \frac{2 r_{⊥}^{2}}{w_{0}^{2}})

(15)

which implies that the sample acts as an effective thin lens with negative focal length

f = - \frac{w_{0}^{2}}{16 k γ I_{0} L} .

(16)

Correspondingly, the acquired divergence angle θ is given by

\tan (θ) = \frac{w_{0}}{∣ f ∣} = 16 \frac{k γ I_{0} L}{w_{0}} .

(17)

At any order in I ₀, we have

∣ f ∣ = 2 \frac{w_{0}^{2} ξ}{L (1 + 8 ξ - \sqrt{1 + 16 ξ})},

(18)

being ξ≡kγI ₀. Therefore, the divergence tan(θ) can be expressed as:

\tan (θ) = \frac{L (1 + 8 ξ - \sqrt{1 + 16 ξ})}{2 w_{0} ξ} .

(19)

For large ξ, tan(θ) saturates at about 0.6L/w ₀, which defines the largest attainable divergence [Fig. 2(b)]. In the future generation of X-ray FEL, peak intensities of the order of 100 GW with source size of 60 µm and divergence of 3 µrad will be at disposal [3

Techical Design Report of the European XFEL, DESY (2006-097). http://xfel.desy.de/tdr/tdr.

]. A beam with wavelength in the range 0.1-10 nm and intensity of ≈10²² W cm^-2 (spot sizes ≈100 nm), displays a linear divergence of the order of 2 mrad; in order to have an observable nonlinear defocusing, we determine the intensity needed to induce a comparable beam divergence. For small divergence angles, owing to the linear relationship θw ₀=16kγI ₀ L between I ₀ and the sample length L, the intensity needed to acquire a nonlinear divergence greater than the linear one is independent on the beam waist; this figure is therefore a good indicator to quantify nonlinear effects. In addition, in real materials the available effective length for the self-defocusing is compelled by photoelectric absorption and/or other material losses, whose strength strongly depends on the atomic number Z. In order to account for these effects, we consider the intensity needed to obtain a divergence comparable to the linear one on the sample characteristic loss length, the latter determined by two leading mechanisms: absorption [Fig. 3(a)] and electron-ion collisions [Fig. 3(b)] (electron-electron collisions are known to be negligible) [4

H. Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1981).

]. Figure 3(a) displays the intensity needed to induce a nonlinear divergence of 2 mrad for waist w ₀=100 nm (or equivalently 20 mrad and for w ₀=10 nm) by including the absorption as quantified by means of tabulated data [23

D. Vaughan, X-Ray Data Booklet (Lawrence Berkely Laboratory, Berkely, 1986). [CrossRef]

]. We estimated the average density of electrons as 〈n ₀〉=Z𝒩 _aDM ^-1 _m, where 𝒩 _a is the Avogadro number, D is the material density and M_m the molar mass, thus obtaining 〈n ₀〉≅10³⁰ m^-3 for all of the considered materials. Figure 3(b) deals with electron-ion collisions described by the conductivity

σ_{coll} = \frac{3 {(KT)}^{\frac{3}{2}}}{2 Z \sqrt{\frac{m}{3}} π q^{2}}

, where K is the Boltzmann constant and T the plasma temperature. By comparing the two figures, one finds that electronic losses are dominant for wavelengths below 1 nm.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion, we predict that X-rays self-phase modulation is observable within the reported expected performances of future X-ray FEL sources for wavelengths of 1–10 nm, and in the current FLASH experiments at DESY. If tightly focused beams are used for retrieving structural information (e.g. in the foreseen single molecule diffraction experiments), we find that as far as the involved powers are of the order of P ₀=mc ³/r ₀≅10 GW, distortion due to nonlinear refraction could be observable and influence the interpretation of the scattering pattern. This result is expected to be independent on the specific structure of the molecule.

References and links

1.	R. Dendy, Plasma physics: an in introductory course (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996).
2.	T. Pfeifer, C. Spielmann, and G. Gerber, “Femtosecond x-ray science,” Rep. Prog. Phys. 69, 443–505 (2006). [CrossRef]
3.	Techical Design Report of the European XFEL, DESY (2006-097). http://xfel.desy.de/tdr/tdr.
4.	H. Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1981).
5.	R. Alkofer, M. B. Hecht, C. D. Roberts, S. M. Schmidt, and D. V. Vinnik, “Pair Creation and an X-Ray Free Electron Laser,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 193902-(4) (2001). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
6.	R. Moshammer, Y. H. Jiang, L. Foucar, A. Rudenko, Th. Ergler, C. D. Schrter, S. Ldemann, K. Zrost, D. Fischer, J. Titze, T. Jahnke, M. Schffler, T. Weber, R. Drner, T. J. M. Zouros, A. Dorn, T. Ferger, K. U. Khnel, S. Dsterer, R. Treusch, P. Radcliffe, E. Plnjes, and J. Ullrich, “Few-Photon Multiple Ionization of Ne and Ar by Strong Free-Electron-Laser Pulses,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 203001-(4) (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
7.	H. Wabnitz, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, T. Laarmann, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, and T. Mller, “Multiple Ionization of Rare Gas Atoms Irradiated with Intense VUV Radiation,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 023001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
8.	Y. Nabekawa, H. Hasegawa, E. J. Takahashi, and K. Midorikawa, “Production of Doubly Charged Helium Ions by Two-Photon Absorption of an Intense Sub-10-fs Soft X-Ray Pulse at 42 eV Photon Energy,” Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 043001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
9.	T. Laarmann, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, H. Wabnitz, and T. Mller, “Photoionization of helium atoms irradiated with intense vacuum ultraviolet free-electron laser light. Part I. Experimental study of multiphoton and single-photon processes,” Phys. Rev. A 72, 023409-(8) (2005). [CrossRef]
10.	E. P. Benis, D. Charalambidis, T. N. Kitsopoulos, G. D. Tsakiris, and P. Tzallas, “Two-photon double ionization of rare gases by a superposition of harmonics,” Phys. Rev. A 74, 051402(R)-(4) (2006). [CrossRef]
11.	T. Sekikawa, A. Kosuge, T. Kanai, and S. Watanabe, “Nonlinear optics in the extreme ultraviolet,” Nature (London) 432, 605–608 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
12.	N. Bloembergen, R. K. Chang, S. S. Jha, and C. H. Lee, “Optical Second-Harmonic Generation in Reflection from Media with Inversion Symmetry,” Phys. Rev. 174, 813–822 (1968). [CrossRef]
13.	S. S. Jha and C. S. Warke, “Nonlinear electromagnetic response of Bloch electrons in a magnetic field,” Nuovo Cimento 53B, 120–135 (1968).
14.	A. Nazarkin, S. Podorov, I. Uschmann, E. Frster, and R. Sauerbrey, “Nonlinear optics in the angstrom regime: Hard-x-ray frequency doubling in perfect crystals,” Phys. Rev. A 67, 041804-(4) (2003). [CrossRef]
15.	S. S. Jha and J. W. F. Woo, “Nonlinear Response of Bound Electrons to X Rays,” Phys. Rev. B 5, 4210–4212 (1972). [CrossRef]
16.	N. Bloembergen, “Wave propagation in nonlinear electromagnetic media,” Proceedings of the IEEE 51, 124–131 (1963). [CrossRef]
17.	R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics (Academic Press, New York, 2002).
18.	R. Neutze, R. Wouts, D. Spoel, E. Weckert, and J. Hajdu, “Potential for biomolecular imaging with femtosecond X-ray pulses,” Nature (London) 406, 752–757 (2000). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
19.	K. Sakoda, Optical Properties of Photonic Crystals (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 2001).
20.	T. Inui, Y. Tanabe, and Y. Onodera, Group theory and its applications in Physics (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 1990). [CrossRef]
21.	C. A. Balanis, Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics (Jhon Wiley & Sons, Toronto, 1989).
22.	Y. S. Kivshar and G. P. Agrawal, Optical Solitons: from Fibers to Photonic Crystals (Academic Press, San Diego, 2003).
23.	D. Vaughan, X-Ray Data Booklet (Lawrence Berkely Laboratory, Berkely, 1986). [CrossRef]

OCIS Codes
(160.4330) Materials : Nonlinear optical materials
(190.5940) Nonlinear optics : Self-action effects
(340.0340) X-ray optics : X-ray optics

ToC Category:
Nonlinear Optics

History
Original Manuscript: January 18, 2008
Revised Manuscript: March 11, 2008
Manuscript Accepted: March 18, 2008
Published: May 23, 2008

Citation
C. Conti, A. Fratalocchi, G. Ruocco, and F. Sette, "Nonlinear optics in the X-ray regime: nonlinear waves and self-action effects," Opt. Express 16, 8324-8331 (2008)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-16-12-8324

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References

R. Dendy, Plasma physics: an in introductory course (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996).
T. Pfeifer, C. Spielmann, and G. Gerber, "Femtosecond x-ray science," Rep. Prog. Phys. 69,443-505 (2006). [CrossRef]
Techical Design Report of the European XFEL, DESY (2006-097). http://xfel.desy.de/tdr/tdr.
H. Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1981).
R. Alkofer, M. B. Hecht, C. D. Roberts, S. M. Schmidt, and D. V. Vinnik, "Pair Creation and an X-Ray Free Electron Laser, " Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 193902-(4) (2001). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
R. Moshammer Y. H. Jiang, L. Foucar, A. Rudenko, Th. Ergler, C. D. Schrter, S. Ldemann, K. Zrost, D. Fischer, J. Titze, T. Jahnke, M. Schffler, T. Weber, R. Drner, T. J. M. Zouros, A. Dorn, T. Ferger, K. U. Khnel, S. Dsterer, R. Treusch, P. Radcliffe, E. Plnjes, and J. Ullrich, " Few-Photon Multiple Ionization of Ne and Ar by Strong Free-Electron-Laser Pulses," Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 203001-(4) (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
H. Wabnitz, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, T. Laarmann, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, and T. Mller, " Multiple Ionization of Rare Gas Atoms Irradiated with Intense VUV Radiation," Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 023001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Y. Nabekawa, H. Hasegawa, E. J. Takahashi, and K. Midorikawa, " Production of Doubly Charged Helium Ions by Two-Photon Absorption of an Intense Sub-10-fs Soft X-Ray Pulse at 42 eV Photon Energy," Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 043001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
T. Laarmann, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, H. Wabnitz, and T. Mller, " Photoionization of helium atoms irradiated with intense vacuum ultraviolet free-electron laser light. Part I. Experimental study of multiphoton and single-photon processes," Phys. Rev. A 72, 023409-(8) (2005). [CrossRef]
E. P. Benis, D. Charalambidis, T. N. Kitsopoulos, G. D. Tsakiris, and P. Tzallas, " Two-photon double ionization of rare gases by a superposition of harmonics," Phys. Rev. A 74, 051402(R)-(4) (2006). [CrossRef]
T. Sekikawa, A. Kosuge, T. Kanai, and S. Watanabe, "Nonlinear optics in the extreme ultraviolet," Nature (London) 432,605-608 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
N. Bloembergen, R. K. Chang, S. S. Jha, and C. H. Lee, "Optical Second-Harmonic Generation in Reflection from Media with Inversion Symmetry, " Phys. Rev. 174,813-822 (1968). [CrossRef]
S. S. Jha, and C. S. Warke, "Nonlinear electromagnetic response of Bloch electrons in a magnetic field," Nuovo Cimento 53B,120-135 (1968).
A. Nazarkin, S. Podorov, I. Uschmann, E. Frster, and R. Sauerbrey, "Nonlinear optics in the angstrom regime: Hard-x-ray frequency doubling in perfect crystals," Phys. Rev. A 67, 041804-(4) (2003). [CrossRef]
S. S. Jha, and J. W. F. Woo, "Nonlinear Response of Bound Electrons to X Rays," Phys. Rev. B 5,4210-4212 (1972). [CrossRef]
N. Bloembergen, "Wave propagation in nonlinear electromagnetic media," Proceedings of the IEEE 51,124-131 (1963). [CrossRef]
R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics (Academic Press, New York, 2002).
R. Neutze, R. Wouts, D. Spoel, E. Weckert, and J. Hajdu, "Potential for biomolecular imaging with femtosecond X-ray pulses," Nature (London) 406,752-757 (2000). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
K. Sakoda, Optical Properties of Photonic Crystals (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 2001).
T. Inui, Y. Tanabe, and Y. Onodera, Group theory and its applications in Physics (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 1990). [CrossRef]
C. A. Balanis, Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics (Jhon Wiley & Sons, Toronto, 1989).
Y. S. Kivshar and G. P. Agrawal, Optical Solitons: from Fibers to Photonic Crystals (Academic Press, San Diego, 2003).
D. Vaughan, X-Ray Data Booklet (Lawrence Berkely Laboratory, Berkely, 1986). [CrossRef]

Alkofer, R.
Benis, E. P.
Bloembergen, N.
Chang, R. K.
Charalambidis, D.
de Castro, A. R. B.
Frster, E.
Gerber, G.
Grtler, P.
Hajdu, J.
Hasegawa, H.
Hecht, M. B.
Jha, S. S.
Kanai, T.
Kitsopoulos, T. N.
Kosuge, A.
Laarmann, T.
Laasch, W.
Lee, C. H.
Midorikawa, K.
Mller, T.
Nabekawa, Y.
Nazarkin, A.
Neutze, R.
Pfeifer, T.
Podorov, S.
Roberts, C. D.
Sauerbrey, R.
Schmidt, S. M.
Schulz, J.
Sekikawa, T.
Spielmann, C.
Spoel, D.
Takahashi, E. J.
Tsakiris, G. D.
Tzallas, P.
Uschmann, I.
Vaughan, D.
Vinnik, D. V.
Wabnitz, H.
Warke, C. S.
Watanabe, S.
Weckert, E.
Woo, J. W. F.
Wouts, R.

Nature (London)

T. Sekikawa, A. Kosuge, T. Kanai, and S. Watanabe, "Nonlinear optics in the extreme ultraviolet," Nature (London) 432,605-608 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
R. Neutze, R. Wouts, D. Spoel, E. Weckert, and J. Hajdu, "Potential for biomolecular imaging with femtosecond X-ray pulses," Nature (London) 406,752-757 (2000). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Nuovo Cimento

S. S. Jha, and C. S. Warke, "Nonlinear electromagnetic response of Bloch electrons in a magnetic field," Nuovo Cimento 53B,120-135 (1968).

Phys. Rev.

N. Bloembergen, R. K. Chang, S. S. Jha, and C. H. Lee, "Optical Second-Harmonic Generation in Reflection from Media with Inversion Symmetry, " Phys. Rev. 174,813-822 (1968). [CrossRef]

Phys. Rev. B

S. S. Jha, and J. W. F. Woo, "Nonlinear Response of Bound Electrons to X Rays," Phys. Rev. B 5,4210-4212 (1972). [CrossRef]

Proceedings of the IEEE

N. Bloembergen, "Wave propagation in nonlinear electromagnetic media," Proceedings of the IEEE 51,124-131 (1963). [CrossRef]

Rep. Prog. Phys.

T. Pfeifer, C. Spielmann, and G. Gerber, "Femtosecond x-ray science," Rep. Prog. Phys. 69,443-505 (2006). [CrossRef]

Other

Techical Design Report of the European XFEL, DESY (2006-097). http://xfel.desy.de/tdr/tdr.
H. Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1981).
R. Alkofer, M. B. Hecht, C. D. Roberts, S. M. Schmidt, and D. V. Vinnik, "Pair Creation and an X-Ray Free Electron Laser, " Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 193902-(4) (2001). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
R. Moshammer Y. H. Jiang, L. Foucar, A. Rudenko, Th. Ergler, C. D. Schrter, S. Ldemann, K. Zrost, D. Fischer, J. Titze, T. Jahnke, M. Schffler, T. Weber, R. Drner, T. J. M. Zouros, A. Dorn, T. Ferger, K. U. Khnel, S. Dsterer, R. Treusch, P. Radcliffe, E. Plnjes, and J. Ullrich, " Few-Photon Multiple Ionization of Ne and Ar by Strong Free-Electron-Laser Pulses," Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 203001-(4) (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
H. Wabnitz, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, T. Laarmann, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, and T. Mller, " Multiple Ionization of Rare Gas Atoms Irradiated with Intense VUV Radiation," Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 023001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Y. Nabekawa, H. Hasegawa, E. J. Takahashi, and K. Midorikawa, " Production of Doubly Charged Helium Ions by Two-Photon Absorption of an Intense Sub-10-fs Soft X-Ray Pulse at 42 eV Photon Energy," Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 043001-(4) (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
T. Laarmann, A. R. B. de Castro, P. Grtler, W. Laasch, J. Schulz, H. Wabnitz, and T. Mller, " Photoionization of helium atoms irradiated with intense vacuum ultraviolet free-electron laser light. Part I. Experimental study of multiphoton and single-photon processes," Phys. Rev. A 72, 023409-(8) (2005). [CrossRef]
E. P. Benis, D. Charalambidis, T. N. Kitsopoulos, G. D. Tsakiris, and P. Tzallas, " Two-photon double ionization of rare gases by a superposition of harmonics," Phys. Rev. A 74, 051402(R)-(4) (2006). [CrossRef]
A. Nazarkin, S. Podorov, I. Uschmann, E. Frster, and R. Sauerbrey, "Nonlinear optics in the angstrom regime: Hard-x-ray frequency doubling in perfect crystals," Phys. Rev. A 67, 041804-(4) (2003). [CrossRef]
K. Sakoda, Optical Properties of Photonic Crystals (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 2001).
T. Inui, Y. Tanabe, and Y. Onodera, Group theory and its applications in Physics (Springer & Verlag, Berlin, 1990). [CrossRef]
C. A. Balanis, Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics (Jhon Wiley & Sons, Toronto, 1989).
Y. S. Kivshar and G. P. Agrawal, Optical Solitons: from Fibers to Photonic Crystals (Academic Press, San Diego, 2003).
D. Vaughan, X-Ray Data Booklet (Lawrence Berkely Laboratory, Berkely, 1986). [CrossRef]
R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics (Academic Press, New York, 2002).
R. Dendy, Plasma physics: an in introductory course (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1996).

2006, Pfeifer, Rep. Prog. Phys.
2004, Sekikawa, Nature (London)
2000, Neutze, Nature (London)
1972, Jha, Phys. Rev. B
1968, Bloembergen, Phys. Rev.
1968, Jha, Nuovo Cimento
1963, Bloembergen, Proceedings of the IEEE

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