Investigation of Nonlinear Wave Collapse with Ultrashort Laser Pulses

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This experimental and theoretical research project involves the study of the nonlinear propagation of high-power femtosecond laser pulses in optically transparent media under conditions in which the pulse undergoes wave collapse such that strong coupling of the temporal and spatial degrees of freedom occurs. The phenomena to be explored is the propagation dynamics of radially- and azimuthally-polarized fields and the nonlinear coupling of spin and angular momentum via self-focusing. Three-dimensional collapse will be explored in the normal and anomalous group-velocity regimes of the optical medium, and studies will be undertaken on the propagation of sub-10 femtosecond laser pulses including compression down to single-cycle pulses. The research will have direct scientific impact on ultrafast laser science, including femtosecond laser damage, pulse propagation in air, and parametric and harmonic generation in gases with ultrashort pulses. The broader impacts include the education of graduate students and undergraduates in the PIs laboratoryThe proposed research will have a broader impact on other branches of science, such as nonlinear dynamics, hydrodynamics, plasma physics, atomic physics, and remote sensing with femtosecond laser pulses. In addition to the education of graduate and undergraduate students, educational broader impacts of the program involve outreach activities via the NSF-funded Center for Nanoscale Systems' Institute for Physics Teachers (CIPT) as well as the delivery of optics related seminars to high-school teachers and students.