U.S.-Bulgarian Cooperative Research in Ultrashort-Pulse Laser Optics

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9520874 Murnane This grant supports a US-Bulgaria Research Project on "Cooperative Research in Ultrashort-Pulse Laser Optics" between Drs. Margaret M. Murnane and Henry C. Kapteyn of Washington State University, and Prof. Ivan P. Christov of the Department of Physics of Sofia University. This project will perform coordinated experimental and theoretical work on novel techniques in ultrashort light pulse generation and measurement. The project will combine the experimental expertise of the group at Washington State University with the theoretical capabilities of the group at Sofia, to address important and significant problems in ultrafast optics. The investigators will perform: (1) experimental and theoretical studies on ultrashort-pulse modelocked Ti:sapphire lasers, to investigate the fundamental limits of modelocking, and study the physics of the modelocking mechanisms with a view to design more efficient and better femtosecond lasers; (2) studies of fundamental limits on the electronic nonlinear response of materials, using light pulses of unprecedented short duration, with a view toward impacting the design of efficient frequency conversion techniques for ultrafast studies in many areas of science, heretofore experimentally inaccessible; and (3) the generation of 1-10 femtosecond optical pulses in the ultraviolet and x-ray region of the spectrum using novel and speculative methods, sources which would have uses in the study of ultrafast chemical and material dynamics. This project in physics fulfills the program objective of advancing scientific knowledge by enabling leading experts in Bulgaria and the United States to combine complementary talents and pool resources in areas of strong mutual interest and competence. ***