Atomsandmoleculesintayloredlaserfields ThomasPfeifer

Coursedescription:

Anongoingrevolutioninlasersciencenowadaysprovidescoherentlightthroughoutalargerangeoftheelectromagneticspectrum,spanningallthewayfromTHzviainfraredandopticalintothe(extreme)UVandthex-rayrange.Theselaserfieldsalsoreachintensitiesthatallownotonlytoperformsingle-photonionization,(linear)excitation,andspectroscopyofmaterialsbutunlockthemanipulationofmatterdirectlyonthelevelofindividualnucleiandelectronsinmoleculesandatoms.

Imagineageneralmattersynthesizer,oranatomic3Dprinter,foranymolecularstructureandevensupramolecularassemblies.Inprinciple,thefullcontrolovertheelectricfieldinspaceandtimeacrossallelectromagneticfrequenciesallowstosteernucleiandtheirelectronsfromanysuppliedformintoadesiredmoleculartargetstructure.Butforthis,weneedakindoffour-dimensional"arbitrary-waveformsynthesizer"foropticallighttogenerateelectromagneticfieldsofaspecificshape"taylor-made"togenerateaspecificoutcomeofthesynthesisofthemolecularprintingprocess.

Thiscourseprovidesanoverviewofthefundamentalsandcurrentstateoftheartinthegenerationandmanipulationofintenselaserlightfields,bothintimeandinspace,andthecorrespondingscientificandtechnologicalapplications.Itstartsoutwiththebasicsoflaserpulseshaping,variousshapingtechniquesandmetrology.Fieldshapingonasub-cyclebasis,i.e.phase-controlofmulti-octavespanningspectracurrentlyopensnewroutesinthecontrolofelectrondynamics.Controloverthespatialpropertiesoflightwillalsobecovered,includingthepolarizationstateoflightaswellasthespatialstructure,bothinfreespaceaswellasnear-fieldgeometries,includingtheangularmomentumandtopologicalstatesoflight.