We perform an alternative approach to produce highly unipolar terahertz pulses. The idea is based on the nonuniform amplification of seed ultrashort carrier-envelope phase (CEP) pulses in nonequilibrium fast relaxing plasma of air or nitrogen. If the gain coefficient drops significantly within the duration of a one-cycle CEP pulse, it undergoes significant distortion where the leading edge of the pulse is amplified and the trailing tail of opposite polarity is absorbed. The obtained results involve a self-consistent solution of the second-order wave equation and kinetic Boltzmann equation for the electron velocity distribution function relaxation.

The spontaneous emission of an atomic system in the field of a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse is considered within the framework of a consistent quantum-mechanical approach based on an examination of the interaction of a quantum system with a set of quantized field modes in a vacuum state. Both even and odd harmonics of the driving field are shown to appear in the atomic emission spectrum, and the mechanisms of their generation are elucidated. A comparison with the semiclassical theory of laser harmonic generation is made. The semiclassical approach in describing the spontaneous emission in strong laser fields, especially under conditions of significant depletion of the ground (initial) state in a laser field, is shown to be limited.

A new approach to the study of the spontaneous emission of the quantum system driven by a high-intensity laser field is developed. This approach is based on the accurate consideration of quantum system interaction with vacuum quantized field modes in the first order of perturbation theory, while the intense laser field is considered classically beyond the perturbation theory which allows to observe any-order stimulated processes governed by classical field. The proposed approach is applied to the study of a number of quantum systems in intense laser field. The obtained data are compared with those obtained in the frames of semiclassical approximation typically used for analyzing of the strong-field dynamic. It is found that the applicability of the semiclassical approach is strictly limited. It is valid for calculation of transitions to the initially populated state only if the population of this state is close to unity during the pulse and in the after-pulse regime. If its population is depleted, the semiclassical approach fails.

We develop a three-dimensional (3D) fully self-consistent model for analysis of an ultrashort THz pulse propagation and amplification in a nonequilibrium plasma channel formed in xenon by a femtosecond UV laser pulse. The model is based on the self-consistent solution of a second order wave equation in the cylindrical geometry and the kinetic Boltzmann equation for the electron velocity distribution function (EVDF) at different points of the spatially inhomogeneous nonequilibrium plasma channel. We analyze the wide range of plasma and seed pulse parameters and reveal the optimal regimes for producing high intensity outgoing THz fields as well as highly unipolar THz pulses within the proposed mechanism. It is demonstrated that the process of EVDF relaxation in plasma limits the amplification of THz pulses at the level of $\sim {10}^7\mathrm{W}/\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^2$. Both focusing features of nonequilibrium plasma and the possibility of producing THz pulses with a high degree of unipolarity are confirmed for the case of 3D geometry.

We present an analysis of dynamic processes for the electromagnetic wave packet passing through the opaque media with quasi-free charges. We consider plasma sheath surrounding the spacecraft as it passes through the dense layers of the atmosphere. In order to provide effective tunneling of the signal to the receiving antenna, the dielectric “resonator” between the surface of the vehicle and plasma is supposed. We discuss the peculiarities of such radio frequency telecommunication channel and analyze in detail tunneling of the wave packet to the resonator and the decay processes for excited oscillations in the resonator. The peculiarities of tunneling through the nonstationary plasma layer are analyzed.