Congratulations to Jan Lucca Viola

We congratulate Jan Lucca Viola on successfully completing his Bachelor thesis on the topic: “Höher Harmonische im optisch getriebenen Zwei-Niveau-System” (Higher Harmonics in an Optically Driven Two-Level System).

Typically, a two-level system is driven with a resonant pulse, meaning the energy of the pulse matches the transition energy of the two-level system, resulting in Rabi oscillations. However, the system can also be driven at one third of the transition energy, leading to a non-linear optical process known as higher harmonics. To describe this process under pulsed excitation, one can solve the equations of motion. Unlike in the resonant case, the popular rotating wave approximation cannot be applied here, and the oscillations during the pulse must be fully accounted for.

In his thesis, Jan Lucca numerically implemented and solved the equations of motion. He found that, indeed, at around one third of the transition frequency, a meaningful occupation remains after excitation. Detailed analysis revealed additional interesting behaviors under pulsed excitation, such as shifts and dips in occupation.

His thesis suggests that even more intriguing non-linear optical processes may emerge when considered in a dynamic framework.