RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
(CLICK on poster thumbnails for high res PDF - 1Mb to 300kB - these are large files so give PDF time to process.......seriously.....)
The research in this group investigates the science of atoms, molecules, and light. Fundamental questions we address include:
1) Atom interactions with ultraintense laser fields
2) Laser technology for high power, ultrafast lasers.
The interaction of atoms with laser intensities from 1017 W/cm2 to 1019 W/cm2 gives rise to very high-energy particles and radiation. The electrons ripped off the atom by ultra-intense lasers will have kinetic energies exceeding their rest mass. They will travel near the speed of light and have millions of electron volts of energy. The dynamics are relativistic and the physics is only now beginning to be understood.
Intense laser interactions and measurements of the fast dynamics for processes in atoms and molecules require lasers that can generate very short pulses of light with high peak intensities. This research laboratory is also involved in laser and optical technology development with some of the highest peak power lasers in the world. These efforts are aimed to meet the scientific demands for high repetition rate, high peak power, ultrashort pulse duration light sources with wavelengths between 300 eV and 0.5 eV. Recent advances in beam shaping technology allow amplification to the terawatt peak power level with a spatial beam profile better than what is available with many 5 milliwatt HeNe lasers.
The research in high intensity physics has significant overlap with commercial interests. These range from laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to high data rate communications in optical fibers. The two posters below relate to the broad application and role of lasers and optical technology in society.
