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Nonlinear optics

Terahertz Kerr effect

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The optical Kerr effect is a well-known phenomenon in which an electric field creates birefringence in a material. Researchers have now demonstrated this effect using single-cycle terahertz pulses — instead of optical pulses — in a variety of liquids.

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Figure 1: The experimental set-up of Hoffmann et al. Femtosecond laser pulses are split into two paths: the top path is used to generate the single-cycle terahertz pulses, whereas the bottom path acts as a probe.

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Freysz, E., Degert, J. Terahertz Kerr effect. Nature Photon 4, 131–132 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2010.14

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