High-order (three-photon or more) above-threshold dissociation (ATD) of H(2)(+) has generally not been observed using 800 nm light. We demonstrate a strong enhancement of its probability using intense 7 fs laser pulses interacting with beams of H(2)(+), HD(+), and D(2)(+) ions. The mechanism invokes a dynamic control of the dissociation pathway. These measurements are supported by theory that additionally reveals, for the first time, an unexpectedly large contribution to ATD from highly excited electronic states.

The formation and subsequent thermalization of positronium ͑Ps͒ produced at a few eV in gases are investigated using time-resolved Doppler-broadening measurements of the annihilation photons. A static magnetic field quenches the Ps enabling Doppler energy measurements from 25 to 70 ns after the Ps is formed. Varying the gas density permits a significant range of the thermalization process to be observed. Seven different gases are studied, He, Ne, Ar, H 2 , N 2 , isobutane, and neopentane. A classical elastic scattering model fits all the gas data reasonably well. For each gas, an elastic scattering cross section and an average Ps formation energy are determined from the classical model fit. When comparisons can be made, these cross sections are often significantly smaller than most quantum-mechanical-theory predictions and most previous experimental results obtained using the angular correlation technique. Various systematic tests have been applied to the apparatus and the analysis, reinforcing the discrepancy with previous works.

For f-to-2f interferometers based on white-light generation in sapphire plates, the accuracy of the carrier-envelope (CE) phase measurement and stabilization is affected by the laser energy fluctuation. The coupling coefficient between the CE phase and the laser energy has been determined by modulating the pulse energy in an in-loop f-to-2f interferometer while measuring the CE phase variation with an out-loop interferometer. When the total spectral phase measured by the in-loop interferometer was locked, a 1% change in laser energy caused a 160 mrad shift in the CE phase of the output pulses.

The authors report the generation of 1.2mJ pulses with a duration of 5.6fs from a neon filled hollow-core fiber seeded with carrier-envelope phase stabilized 2.2mJ, 25fs pulses. The carrier-envelope phase after the fiber was measured by a second, out-loop f-to-2f interferometer. With seed pulse power locked, the carrier-envelope phase of the two-cycle pulses is controlled to a standard deviation of 370mrad. The peak power of the carrier-envelope phase stabilized pulses, 0.2TW, is twice that previously generated. The significance of seed pulse energy stability for carrier-envelope phase stabilization of few-cycle laser pulses is demonstrated.

It is demonstrated that the carrier-envelope (CE) phase of pulses from a high power ultrafast laser system with a grating-based stretcher and compressor can be stabilized to a root mean square (rms) value of 180 mrad over almost 2 hours, excluding a brief re-locking period. The stabilization was accomplished via feedback control of the grating separation in the stretcher. It shows that the long term CE phase stability of a grating based chirped pulse amplification system can be as good as that of lasers using a glass-block stretcher and a prism pair compressor. Moreover, by adjusting the grating separation to preset values, the relative CE phase could be locked to an arbitrary value in the range of 2pi. This method is better than using a pair of wedge plates to adjust the phase after the hollow-core fiber compressor. The CE phase stabilization after a hollow-core fiber compressor was confirmed by a CE-phase meter based on the measurement of the left-to-right asymmetry of electrons produced by above-threshold ionization.