Nonadiabatic three-dimensional model of high-order harmonic generation in the few-optical-cycle regime

A numerical model to calculate the high-order harmonics spectrum of a macroscopic gas target irradiated by a few-optical-cycle laser pulse is presented. The single-atom response, calculated within the nonadiabatic strong-field approximation, is the source term of a three-dimensional propagation code. The simulation results show remarkably good agreement with experiments performed in neon using laser pulses with durations of 30 and 7 fs. Both simulations and experiments show discrete and well-resolved harmonics even for the shortest driving pulses.