XUV superfluorescence from helium gas in the paraxial three-dimensional approximation

We present the results of a theoretical study of XUV superfluorescence from doubly excited states of helium resonantly pumped by free-electron laser (FEL) pulses. Our model allows us to predict both the spectrum and angular distribution of emitted XUV radiation in a wide range of experimentally accessible parameters. This is achieved by going beyond two key deficiencies of most previous models: The one-dimensional treatment in space is upgraded to three dimensions with electromagnetic fields treated in the paraxial approximation and spontaneous emission is modeled by a recently developed approach that avoids the unrealistic delayed response but preserves the expected characteristics of the emitted field in the spontaneous emission limit. The case study of 3a 1Po resonance in helium with 63.66 eV excitation energy is presented for realistic parameters of seeded light pulses from the FERMI FEL facility and a recently developed high-pressure gas cell. Results of numerical simulations show that both the spectral width and angular divergence of emitted radiation vary with gas pressure and pump pulse intensity in a complex way.

Automated summary

In this theoretical study, we predict the spectrum and angular distribution of XUV superfluorescence from doubly excited states of helium pumped by free-electron laser pulses. Our model overcomes the deficiencies of previous models by treating electromagnetic fields in three dimensions and modeling spontaneous emission using a recently developed approach. Numerical simulations of the 3a 1Po resonance in helium show that the spectral width and angular divergence of emitted radiation vary with gas pressure and pump pulse intensity in a complex way.