THz generation by two-color femtosecond filaments with complex polarization states: four-wave mixing versus photocurrent contributions

Two-color filamenation in gases is known to produce intense and broadband THz radiation. There are two physical mechanisms responsible for the THz generation in this scheme: four-wave mixing and emission from the induced plasma currents. The case when the main and second harmonic are linearly polarized is well studied including the impact from each of the above mechanisms. However, for the cases when the two-color fields have complex polarization states the role of the four-wave mixing and plasma mechanisms in the formation of the THz polarization is still under-explored. Here we use both the four-wave mixing and photocurrent models in order to consider the THz generation by two-color fields with arbitrary polarizations. We show that under specific polarizations of the two-color field components it is possible to determine which of the mechanisms is responsible for the THz polarization formation. (paper)