Magnetized plasma rotator for relativistic mid-infrared pulses via frequency-variable Faraday rotation

Dong-Ao Li; Guo-Bo Zhang; Francesco Pegoraro; Qian Zhao; Wen-Jun Liu; Xing-Long Zhu; De-Bin Zou; Jian-Xing Li; Alexander Pukhov; Zheng-Ming Sheng; Tong-Pu Yu

doi:10.1038/s41377-025-02047-x

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Magnetized plasma rotator for relativistic mid-infrared pulses via frequency-variable Faraday rotation

Original Articles

- Magnetized plasma rotator for relativistic mid-infrared pulses via frequency-variable Faraday rotation
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 1, Pages: 277-288(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.College of Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
  2.Physics Department, University of Pisa, Pisa 56127, Italy
  3.CNR, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica (INO), Pisa 56127, Italy
  4.Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, Shaanxi Province Key Laboratory of Quantum Information and Quantum Optoelectronic Devices, School of Physics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
  5.Institute for Fusion Theory and Simulation, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
  6.Institut für Theoretische Physik I, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
  7.Key Laboratory for Laser Plasmas (MOE), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  8.Collaborative Innovation Center of IFSA, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  9.Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 201210, China
- Author bio：
  
  Tong-Pu Yu (tongpu@nudt.edu.cn)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-025-02047-x
  CLC：
- Received：01 April 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-08-17，
  
  Accepted：12 September 2025，
  
  Published Online：02 January 2026，
  
  Published：31 January 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Li, D. A. et al. Magnetized plasma rotator for relativistic midinfrared pulses via frequency-variable Faraday rotation. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 277-288 (2026).
DOI：

Li, D. A. et al. Magnetized plasma rotator for relativistic midinfrared pulses via frequency-variable Faraday rotation. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 277-288 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-025-02047-x.

摘要

Abstract

Optical rotators based on the Faraday effect have been widely used in optical systems

such as optical isolation and circulators. However

due to the limitation of crystals

the application of such optical rotators in high-power lasers has been severely hindered. Here

we propose a novel plasma rotator based on the frequency-variable Faraday rotation (FVFR) in a com

pact manner

achieved by driving the magnetized underdense plasma with a relativistic linearly polarized laser. In the magnetized plasma

the drive laser undergoes photon deceleration and relativistic Faraday rotation

leading to the generation of relativistic polarization-tunable mid-infrared (mid-IR) pulse with intensity

$$ \ge {10}^{16} $$

W cm

−2

and a spectral width of 5–25 μm. With different magnetic fields

the polarization angle of the generated mid-IR pulse can be well controlled. Especially

one can obtain a circularly polarized mid-IR pulse with the spatial average polarization degree of

$$ \ge 0.94 $$

at a suitable external magnetic field. The robustness of the rotator has been well demonstrated through comprehensive three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations across a wide range of laser and plasma parameters. Such a rotator via FVFR is valid from mid to far-infrared and even THz waveband

offering new opportunities for strong-field physics

attosecond science

laboratory astrophysics

etc

and paving the way for relativistic plasma magneto-optics and future relativistic plasma optical devices.

关键词

Keywords

references

Faraday, M. On the magnetization of light and the illumination of magnetic lines of force. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 136 , 1–20 (1846)..

Chin, J. Y. et al. Nonreciprocal plasmonics enables giant enhancement o f thin-film Faraday rotation. Nat. Commun. 4 , 1599 (2013)..

Duggan, R., Sounas, D. & Alu, A. Optically driven effective Faraday effect in instantaneous nonlinear media. Optica 6 , 1152–1157 (2019)..

Li, H. N., Yin, S. X. & Alù, A. Nonreciprocity and Faraday rotation at time interfaces. Phys. Rev. Lett. 128 , 173901 (2022)..

Firby, C. J. et al. Magnetoplasmonic Faraday rotators: enabling gigahertz active polarization control for integrated plasmonics. ACS Photonics 3 , 2344–2352 (2016)..

Budker, D. & Romalis, M. Optical magnetometry. Nat. Phys. 3 , 227–234 (2007)..

Mao, S. A. et al. A survey of extragalactic Faraday rotation at high Galactic latitude: the vertical magnetic field of the Milky Way toward the Galactic poles. Astrophys. J. 714 , 1170–1186 (2010)..

Borghesi, M. et al. Megagauss magnetic field generation and plasma jet formation on solid targets irradiated by an ultraintense picosecond laser pulse. Phys. Rev. Lett. 81 , 112–115 (1998)..

Rochford, K. B. et al. Faraday effect current sensor with improved sensitivity-bandwidth product. Opt. Lett. 19 , 1903–1905 (1994)..

Mironov, E. A. et al. A perspective on Faraday isolators for advanced lasers. Appl. Phys. Lett. 122 , 100502 (2023)..

Weng, S. M. et al. Extreme case of Faraday effect: magnetic splitting of ultrashort laser pulses in plasmas. Optica 4 , 1086–1091 (2017)..

Chen, F. F. Introduction to Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion , 3rd edn (Springer, 2016).

Huang, Y. C. & Dai, Z. G. The extreme Faraday effect in fast radio bursts. Astrophys. J. Lett. 983 , L24 (2025)..

Michel, P. et al. Dynamic control of the polarization of intense laser beams via optical wave mixing in plasmas. Phys. Rev. Lett. 113 , 205001 (2014)..

Turnbull, D. et al. High power dynamic polarization control using plasma photonics. Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 , 205001 (2016)..

Lehmann, G. & Spatschek, K. Plasma-based polarizer and waveplate at large laser intensity. Phys. Rev. E 97 , 063201 (2018)..

Sano, T. et al. Plasma concept for generating circularly polarized electromagnetic waves with relativistic amplitude. Phys. Rev. E 102 , 053214 (2020)..

Yu, C. X. & Liu, J. Faraday rotation and polarization-modulated intense femtosecond laser pulses in a field-ionizing gaseous medium. Phys. Rev. A 90 , 043834 (2014)..

Esarey, E., Schroeder, C. B. & Leemans, W. P. Physics of laser-driven plasma-based electron accelerators. Rev. Mod. Phys. 81 , 1229–1285 (2009)..

Tsung, F. S. et al. Generation of ultra-intense single-cycle laser pulses by using photon deceleration. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99 , 29–32 (2002)..

Mori, W. B. The physics of the nonlinear optics of plasmas at relativistic intensities for short-pulse lasers. IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 33 , 1942–1953 (1997)..

Decker, C. D. et a l. The evolution of ultra-intense, short-pulse lasers in underdense plasmas. Phys. Plasmas 3 , 2047–2056 (1996)..

Vieira, J. et al. Onset of self-steepening of intense laser pulses in plasmas. N. J. Phys. 12 , 045025 (2010)..

Gordon, D. F. et al. Asymmetric self-phase modulation and compression of short laser pulses in plasma channels. Phys. Rev. Lett. 90 , 215001 (2003)..

Edwards, M. R. et al. Laser amplification in strongly magnetized plasma. Phys. Rev. Lett. 123 , 025001 (2019)..

Nie, Z. et al. Relativistic single-cycle tunable infrared pulses generated from a tailored plasma density structure. Nat. Photonics 12 , 489–494 (2018)..

Nie, Z. et al. Photon deceleration in plasma wakes generates single-cycle relativistic tunable infrared pulses. Nat. Commun. 11 , 2787 (2020)..

Zhu, X. L. et al. Efficient generation of relativistic near-single-cycle mid-infrared pulses in plasmas. Light Sci. Appl. 9 , 46 (2020)..

Zhu, X. L. et al. Generation of single-cycle relativistic infrared pulses at wavelengths above 20 µm from density-tailored plasmas. Matter Radiat. Extremes 7 , 014403 (2022)..

Li, D. et al. Laser chirp controlled relativistic few-cycle mid-infrared pulse generation. High. Power Laser Sci. Eng. 11 , e57 (2023)..

Nie, Z. et al. Ultra-short pulse generation from mid-IR to THz range using plasma wakes and relativistic ionization fronts. Phys. Plasmas 28 , 023106 (2021)..

Siminos, E., Thiele, I. & Olofsson, C. Laser wakefield driven generation of isolated carrier-envelope-phase tunable intense subcycle pulses. Phys. Rev. Lett. 126 , 044801 (2021)..

Sandberg, R. T. & Thomas, A. G. R. Photon acceleration from optical to XUV. Phys. Rev. Lett. 130 , 085001 (2023)..

Wolter, B. et al. Strong-field physics with mid-IR fields. Phys. Rev. X 5 , 021034 (2015)..

Fritzsche, S. & Böning, B. Lorentz-force shifts in strong-field ionization with mid-infrared lase r fields. Phys. Rev. Res. 4 , 033031 (2022)..

Thiele, I., Siminos, E. & Fülöp, T. Electron beam driven generation of frequency-tunable isolated relativistic subcycle pulses. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122 , 104803 (2019)..

Popmintchev, T. et al. Bright coherent ultrahigh harmonics in the keV X-ray regime from mid-infrared femtosecond lasers. Science 336 , 1287–1291 (2012)..

Zgadzaj, R. et al. Plasma electron acceleration driven by a long-wave-infrared laser. Nat. Commun. 15 , 4037 (2024)..

Chang, Z. H. et al. Intense infrared lasers for strong-field science. Adv. Opt. Photonics 14 , 652–782 (2022)..

Wang, W. M. et al. Tunable circularly polarized terahertz radiation from magnetized gas plasma. Phys. Rev. Lett. 114 , 253901 (2015)..

Tailliez, C. et al. Terahertz pulse generation from relativistic laser wakes in axially magnetized plasmas. Phys. Rev. Res. 5 , 023143 (2023)..

Draine, B. T. On far-infrared and submillimeter circular polarization. Astrophys. J. 926 , 90 (2022)..

Lopez-Rodriguez, E. et al. The origin of the mid-infrared nuclear polarization of active galactic nuclei. Monthly Not. R. Astronomical Soc. 478 , 2350–2358 (2018)..

Vedantham, H. K. & Ravi, V. Faraday conversion and magneto-ionic variations in fast radio bursts. Monthly Not. R. Astronomical Soc. Lett. 485 , L78–L82 (2019)..

Nimmo, K. et al. Highly polarized microstructure from the repeating FRB 20180916B. Nat. Astron. 5 , 594–603 (2021)..

Ferrière, K., West, J. L. & Jaffe, T. R. The correct sense of Faraday rotation. Monthly Not. R. Astronomical Soc. 507 , 4968–4982 (2021)..

Sprangle, P., Esarey, E. & Ting, A. Nonlinear theory of intense laser-plasma interactions. Phys. Rev. Lett. 64 , 2011–2014 (1990)..

Sprangle, P., Esarey, E. & Ting, A. Nonlinear interaction of intense laser pulses in plasmas. Phys. Rev. A 41 , 4463–4469 (1990)..

Fonseca, R. A. et al. OSIRIS: a three-dimensional, fully relativistic particle in cell code for modeling plasma based accelerators. In Proceedings of the International Conference Amsterdam Computational Science , 342–351 (Springer, 2002).

Wagner, U. et al. Laboratory measurements of 0.7 GG magnetic fields generated during high-intensity laser interactions with dense plasmas. Phys. Rev. E 70 , 026401 (2004)..

Fujioka, S. et al. Kilotesla magnetic field due to a capacitor-coil target driven by high power laser. Sci. Rep. 3 , 1170 (2013)..

Shi, Y. et al. Efficient generation of axial magnetic field by multiple laser beams with twisted pointing directions. Phys. Rev. Lett. 130 , 155101 (2023)..

Santos, J. J. et al. Laser-driven strong magnetostatic fields with applications to charged beam transport and magnetized high energy-density physics. Phys. Plasmas 25 , 056705 (2018)..

Sakata, S. et al. Magnetized fast isochoric laser heating for efficient creation of ultra-high-energy-density states. Nat. Commun. 9 , 3937 (2018)..

Pisarczyk, T. et al. Strongly magnetized plasma produced by interaction of nanosecond kJ-class laser with snail targets. Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 65 , 055015 (2023)..

Zhang, Z. et al. Generation of strong magnetic fields with a laser-driven coil. High. Power Laser Sci. Eng. 6 , e38 (2018)..

Morita, H. & Fujioka, S. Generation, measurement, and modeling of strong magnetic fields generated by laser-driven micro coils. Rev. Mod. Plasma Phys. 7 , 13 (2023)..

Pukhov, A. & Meyer-ter-Vehn, J. Laser wake field acceleration: the highly non-linear broken-wave regime. Appl. Phys. B 74 , 355–361 (2002)..

Lu, W. et al. Nonlinear theory for relativistic plasma wakefields in the blowout regime. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96 , 165002 (2006)..

Wang, Y. X. et al. Depolarization of intense laser beams by dynamic plasma density gratings. High. Power Laser Sci. Eng. 11 , e37 (2023)..

Kübel, M. et al. Streak cam era for strong-field ionization. Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 , 183201 (2017)..

Blaga, C. I. et al. Strong-field photoionization revisited. Nat. Phys. 5 , 335–338 (2009)..

Maurer, J. et al. Probing the ionization wave packet and recollision dynamics with an elliptically polarized strong laser field in the nondipole regime. Phys. Rev. A 97 , 013404 (2018)..

Zhao, J. et al. Terahertz-driven positron acceleration assisted by ultra-intense lasers. Opt. Express 31 , 23171–23182 (2023)..

Dai, Y. N. et al. Photon polarization effects in polarized electron-positron pair production in a strong laser field. Matter Radiat. Extremes 7 , 014401 (2022)..

Palmer, C. A. J. et al. Monoenergetic proton beams accelerated by a radiation pressure driven shock. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106 , 014801 (2011)..

Tinbergen, J. Astronomical Polarimetry (Cambridge University, 2005).

Views

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Tools

Publicity Resources

No data

Related Author

No data

Related Institution

No data

⁰