Unexpected Sensitivity of Nitrogen Ions Superradiant Emission on Pump Laser Wavelength and Duration

Nitrogen molecules in ambient air exposed to an intense near-infrared femtosecond laser pulse give rise to cavity-free superradiant emission at 391.4 and 427.8 nm. An unexpected pulse duration-dependent cyclic variation of the superradiance intensity is observed when the central wavelength of the femtosecond pump laser pulse is finely tuned between 780 and 820 nm, and no signal occurs at the resonant wavelength of 782.8 nm (2ω782.8 nm=ω391.4 nm). On the basis of a semiclassical recollision model, we show that an interference of dipolar moments of excited ions created by electron recollisions explains this behavior.