Theory of the Crossover from Lasing to Steady-State Superradiance

该项目将发展一种新的、技术上重要的光源理论，这种光源有望产生有史以来最纯净的颜色，比迄今为止最稳定的激光器高出几个数量级。这样的光源将在一种全新的状态下工作，利用具有极窄跃迁的特殊原子。具体目标是将这种新装置的理论与激光器的理论统一起来，并正确地描述中间状态。这个项目可能具有超越智力兴趣的重要技术意义。激光自从被发现以来，在过去的50年里对社会产生了重大的影响。这里的计划是扩大对激光的基本了解，以涵盖更广泛的范围，它最终可能导致重要的应用，技术发展和设备，特别是在原子钟和精密测量领域。该计划将涉及本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员的教育和培训。

This project will develop the theory of a new and technologically important type of light source that promises to generate the purest color ever produced, surpassing the most stable lasers built to date by orders of magnitude. Such a light source would operate in a completely novel regime, utilizing special atoms that have extraordinarily narrow transitions. The specific goal is to unify the theory of this new device with that of the laser and to correctly describe the intermediate regime. This project could have important technological implications beyond the intellectual interest. Lasers have had substantial impact on society in the past fifty years since their discovery. The plan here is to expand the basic understanding of the laser to encompass a much broader reach, and it could eventually lead to important applications, technological developments, and devices, especially in the field of atomic clocks and precision measurements. The program will involve the education and training of undergraduates, graduates, and postdoctoral researchers.