Physics 208, Fall 2004

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The Budker Group in Mainz

Introduction to Quantum Electronics and Nonlinear Optics

Introduction to Quantum Electronics and Nonlinear Optics

When and where: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30-11, room 395 LeConte Hall

Format: two 1.5-hr class meetings per week (student participation strongly encouraged); discussion on individual basis (by appointment)

Instructor: Associate Professor Dmitry Budker

Office hour: Wednesdays, 1-2, 273 Birge or by appointment

Course credit will be given on the basis of the homework (50%) and oral presentations (50%). Each student is required to make at least one presentation during the semester; more presentations are encouraged! A brief one-page (professionally formatted and edited) abstract of the presentation should be turned in at the time of presentation. Please include the presenter's name and the date of the presentation in the abstract.

Synopsis and goals of the course:
The course will provide an introduction and overview of the the vast fields of quantum electronics and ninlinear optics, with a choice of specific topics determined by the mutual interests of the audience and the instructor. Initially, I anticipate that the following themes will be touched upon most extensively:

  • Nonlinear frequency conversion: second-harmonic generation, sum- and difference-frequency generation, parametric oscillation
    • phase matching
    • periodically-polled materials
  • Ultra-fast lasers; generation and application of ultra-short (fs) laser pulses
  • Optical metrology; frequency combs; applications to fundamental physics (e.g., tests of the temporal stability of fundamental constants)
  • Interaction of polarized light with atoms

Required text: no text will be required, but several texts will be recommended

Recommended texts (general):

  1. R. W. Boyd, Nonlinear Optics, 2nd ed., Academic Press, 2003 (Physics QC446.2 .B69 2003)
  2. G. S. He and H. Liu, Physics of Nonlinear Optics, World Scientific, 1999 (ISBN: 9810233191; Physics QC446.2 .H6 1999 )
  3. D. Budker, D. F. Kimball, and D. P. DeMille, Atomic Physics. An Exploration through Problems and Solutions, Oxford University Press, 2004 [ISBN:0198509499, 0198509502 (pbk.); Physics QC776 .B83 2004)] (Click here)

Recommended texts (good textbooks on specific subfields):

  1. C. Rulliere, Femtosecond Laser Pulses: Principles and Experiments, Springer-Verlag; 2nd edition, 2004 (ISBN 0387017690)
  2. J.-C. Diels and W. Rudolph, Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena. Fundamentals, Techniques and Applications on a Femtosecond Time Scale; 2nd edition; to be published
  3. R. Trebino, Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating: The Measurement of Ultrashort Laser Pulses, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002 (ISBN 1-4020-7066-7)
  4. A. Ghatak and K. Thyagarajan, Introduction to Fiber Optics, Cambridge, 1998 (ISBN 0-521-57785-3)
  5. C. Cohen-Tannoudji, Atoms in Electromagnetic Fields, 2nd ed., World Scientific, 2004.

Physics (and not-quite-physics) bed-time reading:

  1. Charles H. Townes, How the Laser Happened: Adventures of a Scientist, Oxford University Press, 1999 (ISBN: 0195122682)
  2. Seabrook, W. Doctor Wood, Modern Wizard of the Laboratory. New York, Harcourt, Brace and company, 1941 (Physics Library QC16.W6 S4)
  3. Margarita Ryutova-Kemoklidze, The Quantum Generation: Highlights and Tragedies of the Golden Age of Physics, Springer Verlag, 1995 (ISBN: 0387532986)

News flash!

  • Physics 208B announcement (Prof. Y. R. Shen, Spring 2005)
  • Find out about the most recent Nobel Prizes in Physics!
  • Recent advances in laser wakefield particle acceleration

Seminars and Colloquia

Lecture Notes, Viewgraphs, Electronic Tutorials

Assorted Physics-Related Links, Web Resources

Individual research topics and presentations:

  • The ac-Stark effect by Travis Beals (09/20/04)
  • High-harmonic generation by Tom Allison (10/11/04)
  • Left-handed meta-materials, artificial magnetic resonantors, and possible monlinear applications by Yongmin Liu (10/18/04)
  • Superradiance by Kater Murch (10/25/04)
  • The photorefractive effect and its applications by Alex Sushkov (10/27/04)
  • Information storage and retrieval using lasers (CDs, DVDs, etc.) by Ken Tatebe (11/01/04)
  • Laser gyroscopes by Arman Cingoz (11/03/04)
  • Nonlinear optics with single atoms by Kevin Moore (11/10/04)
  • EIT, CPT, LWI: the common physics thread behind the intriguing acronyms by Tom Purdy (11/22/04)
  • Quantum computing with addresable optical lattices by Travis Beals (12/08/04)
  • Nonlinear imaging: coherence tomography and multi-photon imaging
  • Surface nonlinear optics
  • Testing QED with lasers
  • Measurements of the dc Kerr effect in cryogenic liquids
  • Natural (astrophysical) lasers and masers
  • Spin and orbital angular momentum of light beams
  • Femtosecond-Laser Frequency Combs for Optical Metrology
  • The green laser pointer
  • Novel optical cavities: whispering gallery-modes, microdisks, photonic-bandgap cavities
  • Laser wakefields acceleration (and recent advances)
  • Make up your own topic !

Homework:

Acknowledgment and Disclaimer: This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recomendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).