The principal elements of the theory of polarized light transfer in planetary atmospheres are expounded in a systematic but concise way. Basic concepts and practical methods are emphasized, both for single and multiple scattering of electromagnetic radiation by molecules and particles in the atmospheres of planets in the Solar System, including the Earth, and beyond. A large part of the book is also useful for studies of light scattering by particles in comets, the interplanetary and interstellar medium, circumstellar disks, reflection nebulae, water bodies like oceans and suspensions of particles in a gas or liquid in the laboratory.

Throughout the book symmetry principles, such as the reciprocity principle and the mirror symmetry principle, are employed. In this way the theory is made more transparent and easier to understand than in most papers on the subject. In addition, significant computational reductions, resulting from symmetry principles, are presented. Hundreds of references to relevant literature are given at the end of the book. Appendices contain supplementary information such as a general exposition on properties of matrices transforming Stokes parameters of light beams. Each chapter concludes with a number of problems with answers or hints for solution.

The readers should have some basic knowledge of physics and mathematics. The book is suitable as a textbook for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. It will also be of interest to science professionals in one of the many disciplines in which electromagnetic scattering plays an important role, like astrophysics, atmospheric optics, remote sensing, marine optics, biophysics and biomedicine.

This monographdeals with metastable states in amorphoussemiconductors- ma- rials which lack long-range periodicity in the atoms' positions, which are in th- modynamic nonequilibrium and which, in addition, have several metastable states. Thesestates giverise tovariouspropertiesandeffects- namelya widerangeofp- toinduced changes and high photosensitivity and X-ray sensitivity - that are unique among solid-state semiconductors.Historically, amorphousselenium and seleni- based materials have played an important role in physics and technology, and they continue to do so. In these materials there exist inherent intermediate (metastable) states, structural and electronic in origin, which lead to interesting properties and effects different from those of their crystalline counterparts. In this volume, the metastable states and related effects are investigated in depth against the background of a detailed consideration of local atomic and electronic structure, and taking into account a wide range of light-induced effects. Although the rst publications on amorphous semiconductors date back to the early 1970s, studies of metastable states in these materials had not been analyzed systematically up to now, which led to erroneous ideas, even among specialists. In the present book, experimental investigations of metastable states are reported in detail for elemental selenium and selenium-based materials.

Polarization Spectroscopy of Ionized Gases describes the physical principles of the technique and its applications to remote sensing. Transport phenomena and local anisotropies can be studied. The theoretical part of the book considers the basic phenomena of the ordering of the velocities of fast exciting charged particles. The polarization of the outer electron shells of excited atoms or molecules is described, and a variety of effects are examined in detail. An integral equation is derived which gives the intensity and polarization of emitted lines. Methods for solving the equation are analyzed. Universal spectropolarimetric remote sensing has been applied to low pressure gas discharges in the laboratory and to non-thermal processes in the solar atmosphere. For researchers interested in the remote sensing of ionized gases.

This book presents an overview of the state of the art of the developing topic of nonlinear optics with contributions from leading experts in the field in China, ranging from weak light nonlinear optics, ultrafast nonlinear optics to electro-optical theory and applications. In the past decade, nonlinear optics has evolved into many different branches, depending on the form of the material used for studying the nonlinear phenomena. The growth of research in nonlinear optics is closely linked to the rapid technological advances that have occurred in related fields, such as ultra-fast phenomena and optical communications. Nonlinear-optics activities range from the fundamental studies of the interaction between matter and radiation to the development of devices, components, and systems of tremendous commercial interest for widespread applications in optical telecommunications, medicine, and biotechnology. This book reviews the development of some nonlinear optics researches in China, not only the discovery of new principles, but also potential applications of nonlinear optics for various industries.

Nonlinear Photonics and Novel Optical Phenomena contains contributed chapters from leading experts in nonlinear optics and photonics, and provides a comprehensive survey of fundamental concepts as well as hot topics in current research on nonlinear optical waves and related novel phenomena. The book covers self-accelerating airy beams, integrated photonics based on high index doped-silica glass, linear and nonlinear spatial beam dynamics in photonic lattices and waveguide arrays, the theory of polariton solitons in semiconductor microcavities, and Terahertz waves.

The principal objectives of the Project were to further the establishment of national "operational" weather radar networks, harmonise operations, data handling and processing to minimise the difficulties of, and maximise the benefits of international weather radar data exchange. To transmit the data efficiently, standardised formats and protocols were essential. These were formulated by a working group whose efforts were rewarded when WMO accepted their proposal for worldwide use. A multi-national pilot project area was established and streams of data from each of the countries involved were merged and integrated with data from the satelite METEOSAT. The composite image, known as "the COST image" was regularly distributed via the global telecommunication system of WMO, the public telephone switched network and the Olympus satelite. The utility of the COST image was assessed for, inter alia, short-period forecasting, aviation flight assistance, maritime forecasting and the initialisation of numerical weather prediction models. In all cases, the COST image was found to be beneficial. A report containing proposed curricula for the training of meteorologists, hydrologists and other major users of weather radar data was sent to WMO for possible adoption as one of their standard training manuals. As a report of international scientific cooperation, this is a success story. All the principal objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding were achieved both within time and budget. It is a tale of international cooperation at its best.

Photonics is being labelled by many as the technology for the 21st century. Because of the structural flexibility both at the molecular and bulk levels, organic materials are emerging as a very important class of nonlinear optical materials to be used for generating necessary nonlinear optical functions for the technology of photonics. Since the last NATO advanced research workshop on "Polymers for Nonlinear Optics"held in June 1988, at Nice - Sophia Antipolis, France. there has been a tremendous growth of interest worldwide and important development in this field. Significant progress has been made in theoretical modeling, material development, experimental studies and device concepts utilizing organic materials. These important recent developments provided the rationale for organizing the workshop on "Organic Materials for Nonlinear Optics and Photonics" which was held in La Rochelle, France, in August 1990. This proceeding is the outcome of the workshop held in La Rochelle. The objective of the workshop was to bring together scientists and engineers of varied backgrounds working in this field in order to assess the current status of this field by presenting significant recent developments and make recommendations on future directions of research. The workshop was multidisciplinary as it had contributions from chemists, physicists, materials scientists and device engineers. The participants were both from industries and universities. The workshop included plenary lectures by leading international scientists in this field, contributed research papers and a poster session. Panel discussion groups were organized to summarize important developments and to project future directions.

This book presents an in-depth discussion of the semiconductor-laser gain medium. The optical and electronic properties of semiconductors, particularly semiconductor quantum-well systems, are analzyed in detail, covering a wide variety of near-infrared systems with or without strain, as well as wide-gap materials such as the group-III nitride compounds or the II-VI materials. The important bandstructure modifications and Coulomb interaction effects are discussed, including the solution of the longstanding semiconductor laser lineshape problem. Quantitative comparisons between measured and predicted gain/absorption and refractive index spectra for a wide variety of semiconductor-laser materials enable the theoretical results to be used directly in the engineering of advanced laser and amplifier structures. A wealth of examples for many different material combinations bestow the book with quantitative and predictive value for a wide variety of applications.

The development of coherent radiation sources for sub-angstrom wavelengths - i.e. in the hard X-ray and gamma-ray range - is a challenging goal of modern physics. The availability of such sources will have many applications in basic science, technology and medicine and in particular, they may have a revolutionary impact on nuclear and solid state physics, as well as on the life sciences. The present state-of-the-art lasers are capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation from the infrared to the ultraviolet, while free electron lasers (X-FELs) are now entering the soft X-ray region. Moving further, i.e. into the hard X and/or gamma ray band, however, is not possible without new approaches and technologies.

In this book we introduce and discuss one such novel approach -the radiation formed in a Crystalline Undulator -whereby electromagnetic radiation is generated by a bunch of ultra-relativistic particles channeling through a periodically bent crystalline structure. Under certain conditions, such a device can emit intensive spontaneous monochromatic radiation and even reach the coherence of laser light sources.

Readers will be presented with the underlying fundamental physics and be familiarized with the theoretical, experimental and technological advances made during the last one and a half decades in exploring the various features of investigations into crystalline undulators. This research draws upon knowledge from many research fields - such as materials science, beam physics, the physics of radiation, solid state physics and acoustics, to name but a few. Accordingly, much care has been taken by the authors to make the book as self-contained as possible in this respect, so as to also provide a usefulintroduction to this emerging field to a broad readership of researchers and scientist with various backgrounds.

This new edition has been revised and extended to take recent developments in the field into account."

In response to significant developments in sensor science and technology, this book offers insight into the various extended applications and developments of N4 macrocycle complexes in biomimetic electrocatalysis. Chapters are devoted to the chemistry, electronic and electrochemical properties of porphyrin- based polymetallated supramolecular redox catalysts and their applications in analytical and photoelectrochemical molecular devices; the use of porphyrins, phthalocyanines and related complexes as electrocatalysts for the detection of a wide variety of environmentally polluting and biologically relevant molecules; and the use of electropolymerized metalloporphyrin and metallophthalocyanine films as powerful materials for analytical tools, especially for sensing biologically relevant species.

This book reviews progress towards quantum simulators based on photonic and hybrid light-matter systems, covering theoretical proposals and recent experimental work. Quantum simulators are specially designed quantum computers. Their main aim is to simulate and understand complex and inaccessible quantum many-body phenomena found or predicted in condensed matter physics, materials science and exotic quantum field theories. Applications will include the engineering of smart materials, robust optical or electronic circuits, deciphering quantum chemistry and even the design of drugs. Technological developments in the fields of interfacing light and matter, especially in many-body quantum optics, have motivated recent proposals for quantum simulators based on strongly correlated photons and polaritons generated in hybrid light-matter systems. The latter have complementary strengths to cold atom and ion based simulators and they can probe for example out of equilibrium phenomena in a natural driven-dissipative setting. This book covers some of the most important works in this area reviewing the proposal for Mott transitions and Luttinger liquid physics with light, to simulating interacting relativistic theories, topological insulators and gauge field physics. The stage of the field now is at a point where on top of the numerous theory proposals; experiments are also reported. Connecting to the theory proposals presented in the chapters, the main experimental quantum technology platforms developed from groups worldwide to realize photonic and polaritonic simulators in the laboratory are also discussed. These include coupled microwave resonator arrays in superconducting circuits, semiconductor based polariton systems, and integrated quantum photonic chips. This is the first book dedicated to photonic approaches to quantum simulation, reviewing the fundamentals for the researcher new to the field, and providing a complete reference for the graduate student starting or already undergoing PhD studies in this area.

The control of optical modes in microcavities or in photonic bandgap (PBG) materials is coming of age Although these ideas could have been developed some time ago, it is only recently that they have emerged, due to advances in both atomic physics and in fabrication techniques, be it on the high-quality dielectric mirrors required for high-finesse Fabry Perot resonators or in semiconductor multilayer deposition methods. Initially the principles of quantum electro-dynamics (QED) were demonstrated in elegant atomic physics experiments. Now solid-state implementations are being investigated, with several subtle differences from the atomic case such as those due to their continuum of electronic states or the near Boson nature of their elementary excitations, the exciton. Research into quantum optics brings us ever newer concepts with potential to improve system performance such as photon squeezing, quantum cryptography, reversible taps, photonic de Broglie waves and quantum computers. The possibility of implementing these ideas with solid-state systems gives us hope that some could indeed find their way to the market, demonstrating the continuing importance of basic research for applications, be it in a somewhat more focused way than in earlier times for funding."

The two special volumes of Advances in Polymer Science entitled Polymers for Photonics Applications provide authoritative and critical reviews of up-to-date research and advances in various fields of photonic polymers as well as their promising applications. Eight articles contributed by internationally recognized scientists are concerned with polymers for second- and third-order nonlinear optics, quadratic parametric interactions in polymer waveguides, electroluminescent polymers for light sources, photoreflective polymers for holographic information storage, and highly efficient two-photon absorbing organics and polymers, including their applications. This review should provide individuals working in the field of photonic polymers with invaluable scientific knowledge on the state of the art while giving directions for future research to those deeply interested.

The emergence of highly efficient short-wavelength laser diodes based on the III-V compound semiconductor GaN has not only enabled high-density optical data storage, but is also expected to revolutionize display applications. Moreover, a variety of scientific applications in biophotonics, materials research and quantum optics can benefit from these versatile and cost-efficient laser light sources in the near-UV to green spectral range. This thesis describes the device physics of GaN-based laser diodes, together with recent efforts to achieve longer emission wavelengths and short-pulse emission. Experimental and theoretical approaches are employed to address the individual device properties and optimize the laser diodes toward the requirements of specific applications.

This thesis reveals the utility of pursuing a statistical physics approach in the description of wave interactions in multimode optical systems. To that end, the appropriate Hamiltonian models are derived and their limits of applicability are discussed. The versatility of the framework allows the characterization of ordered and disordered lasers in open and closed cavities in a unified scheme, from standard mode-locking to random lasers. With the use of replica method and Monte Carlo simulations, the models are categorized on the basis of universal properties, and nontrivial predictions of experimental relevance are obtained. In particular, the approach makes it possible to nonperturbatively treat the interplay between disorder and nonlinearity and to envisage novel and fascinating physical phenomena such as glassy random lasers, providing a novel way to experimentally investigate replica symmetry breaking.

This book deals with the reflection of electromagnetic and particle waves by interfaces. The interfaces can be sharp or diffuse. The topics of the book contain absorption, inverse problems, anisotropy, pulses and finite beams, rough surfaces, matrix methods, numerical methods, reflection of particle waves and neutron reflection. Exact general results are presented, followed by long wave reflection, variational theory, reflection amplitude equations of the Riccati type, and reflection of short waves. The Second Edition of the Theory of Reflection is an updated and much enlarged revision of the 1987 monograph. There are new chapters on periodically stratified media, ellipsometry, chiral media, neutron reflection and reflection of acoustic waves. The chapter on anisotropy is much extended, with a complete treatment of the reflection and transmission properties of arbitrarily oriented uniaxial crystals. The book gives a systematic and unified treatment reflection and transmission of electromagnetic and particle waves at interfaces. It is intended for physicists, chemists, applied mathematicians and engineers, and is written in a simple direct style, with all necessary mathematics explained in the text.

Laser Diode Microsystems provides the reader with the basic knowledge and understanding required for using semiconductor laser diodes in optical microsystems and micro-optical electromechanic systems. This tutorial addresses the fundamentals of semiconductor laser operation and design, coupled with an overview of the types of laser diodes suitable for use in Microsystems, along with their distinguishing characteristics. Emphasis is placed on laser diode characterization and measurement as well as the assembly techniques and optical accessories required for incorporation of semiconductor lasers into complex microsystems. Equipped with typical results and calculation examples, this hand-on text helps readers to develop a feel for how to choose a laser diode, characterize it and incorporate it into a microsystem.

Optical Solitons represent one of the most exciting and fascinating concepts in modern communications, arousing special interest due to their potential applications in optical fibre communication. This volume focuses on the explicit integration of analytical and experimental methods in nonlinear fibre optics and integrated optics. It covers all important recent technical issues in optical-soliton communication. For example, individual chapters are devoted to topics such as dispersion management and fibre Bragg grating. All authors are leading authorities in their fields.

Quantum Optics is a rapidly progressing field well suited to probe the many fundamental issues raised by the subtleties of quantum physics. This book consists of a collection of reviews and papers that highlight the most important challenges faced in this area of research, including topics such as cavity QED, quantum entanglement, decoherence, matter waves and nonlinear optics. It will be a source of reference for all those who wish to familiarize themselves with the latest developments in the field.

This book primarily covers the fundamental science, synthesis, characterization, optoelectronic properties, and applications of metal oxide nanomaterials. It discusses the basic aspects of synthetic procedures and fabrication technologies, explains the related experimental techniques and also elaborates on the current status of nanostructured oxide materials and related devices. Two major aspects of metal oxide nanostructures - their optical and electrical properties - are described in detail. The first five chapters focus on the optical characteristics of semiconducting materials, especially metal oxides at the nanoscale. The following five chapters discuss the electrical properties observed in metal oxide-based semiconductors and the status quo of device-level developments in a variety of applications such as sensors, transistors, dilute magnetic semiconductors, and dielectric materials. The basic science and mechanism behind the optoelectronic phenomena are explained in detail, to aid readers interested in the structure-property symbiosis in semiconducting nanomaterials. In short, the book offers a valuable reference guide for researchers and academics in the areas of material science and semiconductor technology, especially nanophotonics and electronics.

This textbook, based on the authors' class-tested material, is accessible to students at the advanced undergraduate and graduate level in physics and engineering. While its primary function is didactic, this book's comprehensive choice of topics and its clear and authoritative synthesis of ideas make it a useful reference for researchers, device engineers, and course instructors who wish to consolidate their knowledge of this field. The book takes the semi-classical approach where light is treated as a wave in accordance with the classical Maxwell equations, while matter is governed by quantum theory. It begins by introducing the postulates and mathematical framework of quantum theory, followed by the formalism of the density matrix which allows the transition from microscopic (quantum) quantities to macroscopic (classical) ones. Consequently, the equations describing the reaction of matter to the electromagnetic field in the form of polarization, magnetization, and current are derived. These equations (together with the Maxwell equations) form the complete system of equations sufficient to model a wide class of problems surrounding linear and nonlinear interactions of electromagnetic fields with matter. The nonlinear character of the governing equations determines parameters of the steady-state mode of the quantum generator and is also demonstrated in harmonic generation via propagation of laser radiation in various media. The touchstone description of magnetic phenomena will be of interest to scientists who deal with applications of magneto-resonance phenomena in biology and medicine. Other advanced topics covered include electric dipole transitions, magnetic dipole transitions, plasma transitions, and the devices that can be based on these and other electro-optical and nonlinear-optical systems. This textbook features numerous exercises, some of which are investigatory and some of which require computational solutions.

It is a great pleasure that we are now publishing the fourth volume of the series on PUILS, through which we have been introducing the progress in ultrafast intense laser science, the frontiers of which are rapidly expanding, thanks to the progress in ultrashort and high-power laser technologies. The interdisciplinary nature of this research ?eld is attracting researchers with di?erent expertise and backgrounds. As in the previousvolumeson PUILS, each chapter in the presentvolume, which is in the range of 15-25 pages, begins with an introduction in which a clear and concise account of the signi?cance of the topic is given, followed by a description of the authors' most recent research results. All the chapters are peer-reviewed. The articles of this fourth volume cover a diverse range of the interdisciplinary research ?eld, and the topics may be grouped into four categories: strong ?eld ionization of atoms (Chaps. 1-2), excitation, ioni- tion and fragmentation of molecules (Chaps. 3-5), nonlinear intense optical phenomena and attosecond pulses (Chaps. 6-8), and laser solid interactions and photoemissions (Chaps. 9-11).

A NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Advanced Radiation Sources and Applications" was held from August 29 to September 2, 2004. Hosted by the Yerevan Physics Institute, Yerevan, Armenia, 30 invited researchers from former Soviet Union and NATO countries gathered at Nor-Hamberd, Yerevan, on the slopes of Mount Aragats to discuss recent theoretical as well as expe- mental developments on means of producing photons from mostly low energy electrons. Thismeetingbecamepossiblethroughthegenerousfundingprovidedbythe NATO Science Committee and the programme director Dr. Fausto Pedrazzini in the NATO Scienti?c and Environmental Affairs Division. The workshop - rectors were Robert Avakian, Yerevan Physics Institute, Armenia and Helmut Wiedemann, Stanford (USA). Robert Avakian provided staff, logistics and - frastructure from the Yerevan Physics institute to assure a smooth execution of the workshop. Special thanks goes to Mrs. Ivetta Keropyan for admin- trative and logistics support to foreign visitors. The workshop was held at the institute's resort in Nor-Hamberd on the slopes of Mount Aragats not far from the Yerevan cosmic ray station. The isolation and peaceful setting of the resort provided the background for a fruitful week of presentations and discussions. Following our invitations, 38 researchers in this ?eld came to the workshop from Armenia, Belarus, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, France, G- many and the USA. Commuting from Yerevan local scientists joined the daily presentations. Over a ?ve day period 40 presentations were given.

This book contains most, but regrettably not all, the papers that were presented at The Advanced Research Workshop, held July 1-5, 1997, at Smolenice Castle, Slovak Republic. The problem of angular divergence is of great importance in quantum electronics: low divergence is required not only in most of practical laser applications, but also for achieving high efficiency of parametric laser frequency conversion, and harmonic generation. The large volume of available studies aimed at improving the pump systems and the spectroscopic properties of lasing media, brought about no more than 2-3 fold increases in laser efficiency, while concurrent studies of angular divergence and the implementation of the findings, resulted in several order of magnitude of increases in radiance. The spatial beam structure that is formed in the laser cavity together with the active element constitute the most critical laser elements. The engineering devices, such as excitation systems, lasing gas circulation systems, etc., are usually at the top of the agenda of scientific meetings and of gatherings of engineering experts. The divergence problem has never been discussed by a broad community of experts in this field.

Proceedings of the Sixth International School of Coherent Optics, Ustron, Poland, September 19-26, 1985