"FOCUS: Frontiers in Optical Coherent and Ultrafast Science"

FOCUS是一个新的物理前沿中心，致力于光相干和超快科学的前沿。FOCUS的任务是在相干控制、超快和高场物理领域提供国家领导。FOCUS的工作将包括高场控制的三个前沿“主要研究组成部分”；超快的控制;和量子控制。FOCUS将扩展其学科的前沿：短于万亿分之一秒的千分之一的光脉冲的生产、控制和利用；超高强度激光场的物理学，每平方厘米超过一百亿万亿瓦；分子键和分子运动的相干操纵；以及对超冷原子和离子的量子力学控制。直接控制的相干场强将跨越18个数量级，从超相对论激光驱动等离子体（TV/cm）到冷却离子阱中的控制场（uV/cm）。许多在一个领域发展起来的相干控制物理学都适用于另一个领域。科学和社会前所未有地依赖于相干和超快光学科学的这些新的和快速的进展。由FOCUS中心开发的相干和超快光学物理将在未来二十年中成为物理学中一些最雄心勃勃和最令人兴奋的进展的最前沿。例子涵盖了物质波精密设备、引力波探测器、x射线自由电子激光器、量子加密和计算、化学的相干控制、激光驱动的粒子加速以及其他领域。该奖项由物理部和MPS理事会的多学科活动办公室共同资助。

FOCUS is a new Physics Frontiers Center devoted to Frontiers in OpticalCoherent and Ultrafast Science. The FOCUS mission is to provide national leadership in the areas of coherent control, ultrafast, and high field physics. The work of FOCUS will include three frontier "Major Research Components" in High Field Control; Ultrafast Control; and Quantum Control. FOCUS will extend the frontiers of its discipline: the production, control and utilization of light pulses shorter than one thousandth of one trillionth of a second; physics of ultrahigh intensity laser fields, exceeding ten billion trillion watts per square centimeter; coherent manipulation of molecular bonds and molecular motion; and the control of quantum mechanics in ultracold atoms and ions. The coherent field strengths under direct control will span 18 orders of magnitude, from ultra-relativistic laser-driven plasmas (TV/cm) to control fields in cooled ion traps (uV/cm). Much of the coherent control physics developed in one area is applicable toanother. Science and society depend on these novel and rapid advances in coherent and ultrafast optical science now as never before. The coherent and ultrafast optical physics developed by the FOCUS center will be at the forefront of some of the most ambitious and exciting advances in physics in the next two decades. Examples extend across thefields of matter-wave precision devices, gravitational wave detectors, x-ray free electron lasers, quantum encryption and computing, coherent control of chemistry, laser-driven particle acceleration, as well as others. This award is jointly funded by the Division of Physics and the Office of Multidiscipliary Activities in the MPS Directorate.