Astrophysical Lasers

Astrophysical Lasers PDF Author: Vladilen Letokhov
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 0199548277
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Progress in modern radio astronomy led to the discovery of space masers in the microwave range, and it became a powerful tool for studies of interstellar star-forming molecular clouds. Progress in observational astronomy, particularly with ground-based huge telescopes and the space-based Hubble Space Telescope, has led to recent discoveries of space lasers in the optical range. These operate in gas condensations in the vicinity of the mysterious star Eta Carinae (one of the most luminous and massive stars of our Galaxy). Both maser and laser effects, first demonstrated under laboratory conditions, have now been discovered to occur under natural conditions in space too. This book describes consistently the elements of laser science, astrophysical plasmas, modern astronomical observation techniques, and the fundamentals and properties of astrophysical lasers. A book with such an interdisciplinary scope has not been available to date. The book will also be useful for a wider audience interested in modern developments of the natural sciences and technology.

Astrophysical Lasers

Astrophysical Lasers PDF Author: Vladilen Letokhov
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 0199548277
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Get Book

Book Description
Progress in modern radio astronomy led to the discovery of space masers in the microwave range, and it became a powerful tool for studies of interstellar star-forming molecular clouds. Progress in observational astronomy, particularly with ground-based huge telescopes and the space-based Hubble Space Telescope, has led to recent discoveries of space lasers in the optical range. These operate in gas condensations in the vicinity of the mysterious star Eta Carinae (one of the most luminous and massive stars of our Galaxy). Both maser and laser effects, first demonstrated under laboratory conditions, have now been discovered to occur under natural conditions in space too. This book describes consistently the elements of laser science, astrophysical plasmas, modern astronomical observation techniques, and the fundamentals and properties of astrophysical lasers. A book with such an interdisciplinary scope has not been available to date. The book will also be useful for a wider audience interested in modern developments of the natural sciences and technology.

Precision Spectroscopy in Astrophysics

Precision Spectroscopy in Astrophysics PDF Author: Nuno C. Santos
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540754857
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Since the use of high-precision/resolution spectroscopy is closely connected to the ability to collect a large number of photons, the scientific domains using this technique benefit tremendously from the use of 8-meter class telescopes and will fully exploit the tremendous gain provided by future Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs). This volume comprehensively covers the astrophysical and technical aspects of high-precision spectroscopy with an outlook to future developments.

Laser Spectroscopy - Proceedings Of The Xvii International Conference

Laser Spectroscopy - Proceedings Of The Xvii International Conference PDF Author: Edward A Hinds
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814478598
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 451

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Book Description
This is the latest volume in the series of proceedings from the biannual International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy, one of the leading conferences in the field. Over its 34-year history, this conference series has been a forum for the announcement of many new developments in laser physics and laser spectroscopy and more recently laser cooling of atoms and quantum information processing. The proceedings include contributions from the invited speakers and a selection of contributed papers.A particular theme for this volume is precision measurements. Motivated by the untapped potential for vast improvements in accuracy offered by atomic systems, this subject has advanced tremendously in recent years by new developments in laser technology. This has been recognized by the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to two of the pioneers in the field and contributors to these proceedings, J L Hall and T W Hänsch.The other main theme of the proceedings is cold atoms and quantum degenerate gases. This conference marked the 10th anniversary of the first announcement of an atomic Bose-Einstein Condensate at the 12th International Conference on Laser Spectroscopy with a contribution from Nobel Laureate Eric Cornell.

Annual Review Of Cold Atoms And Molecules - Volume 2

Annual Review Of Cold Atoms And Molecules - Volume 2 PDF Author: Kirk W Madison
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814590185
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
The aim of this book is to present review articles describing the latest theoretical and experimental developments in the field of cold atoms and molecules. Our hope is that this series will promote research by both highlighting recent breakthroughs and by outlining some of the most promising research directions in the field.

Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics for Astronomy

Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics for Astronomy PDF Author: N. Ageorges
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401596247
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Adaptive optics allows the theoretical limit of angular resolution to be achieved from a large telescope, despite the presence of turbulence. Thus an eight meter class telescope, such as one of the four in the Very Large Telescope operated by ESO in Chile, will in future be routinely capable of an angular resolution of almost 0.01 arcsec, compared tot he present resolution of about 0.5 arcsec for conventional imaging in good condition. All the world's major telescopes either have adaptive optics or are in the process of building AO systems. It turns out that a reasonable fraction of the sky can be observed using adaptive optics, with moderately good imaging quality, provided imaging in done in the near IR. To move out of the near IR, with its relatively poor angular resolution, astronomers need a laser guide star. There is a layer of Na atoms at approximately 90 km altitude that can be excited by a laser to produce such a source, or Rayleigh scattering can be employed lower in the atmosphere. But the production and use of laser guide stars is not trivial, and the key issues determining their successful implementation are discussed here, including the physics of the Na atom, the cone effect, tilt determination, sky coverage, and numerous potential astronomical applications.

Maser Sources in Astrophysics

Maser Sources in Astrophysics PDF Author: Malcolm Gray
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521879809
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 431

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Book Description
Written for postgraduates and researchers, this is an up-to-date survey of astrophysical maser sources and their use as astronomical tools.

Laboratory High-energy Astrophysics on Lasers

Laboratory High-energy Astrophysics on Lasers PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 7

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Book Description
The tremendous range of temperatures and densities spanned by astrophysical plasmas has significant overlap with conditions attainable using high-power laser facilities. These facilities provide an opportunity to create, control, and characterize plasmas in the laboratory that mirror conditions in some of the most important cosmological systems. Moreover, laboratory experiments can enhance astrophysical understanding by focusing on and isolating important physical processes, without necessarily reproducing the exact conditions of the integral system. Basic study of radiative properties, transport phenomena, thermodynamic response and hydrodynamic evolution in plasmas under properly scaled conditions leads both directly and indirectly to improved models of complex astrophysical systems. In this paper, we will discuss opportunities for current and planned highpower lasers to contribute to the study of high-energy astrophysics.

Laser-Plasma Interactions and Applications

Laser-Plasma Interactions and Applications PDF Author: Paul McKenna
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3319000381
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
Laser-Plasma Interactions and Applications covers the fundamental and applied aspects of high power laser-plasma physics. With an internationally renowned team of authors, the book broadens the knowledge of young researchers working in high power laser-plasma science by providing them with a thorough pedagogical grounding in the interaction of laser radiation with matter, laser-plasma accelerators, and inertial confinement fusion. The text is organised such that the theoretical foundations of the subject are discussed first, in Part I. In Part II, topics in the area of high energy density physics are covered. Parts III and IV deal with the applications to inertial confinement fusion and as a driver of particle and radiation sources, respectively. Finally, Part V describes the principle diagnostic, targetry, and computational approaches used in the field. This book is designed to give students a thorough foundation in the fundamental physics of laser-plasma interactions. It will also provide readers with knowledge of the latest research trends and elucidate future exciting challenges in laser-plasma science.

Opportunities in Intense Ultrafast Lasers

Opportunities in Intense Ultrafast Lasers PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309467721
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
The laser has revolutionized many areas of science and society, providing bright and versatile light sources that transform the ways we investigate science and enables trillions of dollars of commerce. Now a second laser revolution is underway with pulsed petawatt-class lasers (1 petawatt: 1 million billion watts) that deliver nearly 100 times the total world's power concentrated into a pulse that lasts less than one-trillionth of a second. Such light sources create unique, extreme laboratory conditions that can accelerate and collide intense beams of elementary particles, drive nuclear reactions, heat matter to conditions found in stars, or even create matter out of the empty vacuum. These powerful lasers came largely from U.S. engineering, and the science and technology opportunities they enable were discussed in several previous National Academies' reports. Based on these advances, the principal research funding agencies in Europe and Asia began in the last decade to invest heavily in new facilities that will employ these high-intensity lasers for fundamental and applied science. No similar programs exist in the United States. Opportunities in Intense Ultrafast Lasers assesses the opportunities and recommends a path forward for possible U.S. investments in this area of science.

High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics

High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics PDF Author: Sergey V. Lebedev
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402060556
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
This work will be of interest to a wide range of academics. It provides a comprehensive round-up of the proceedings and papers delivered at the 2006 Conference on High Energy Density Laboratory Astrophysics, held at Rice University in Houston, Texas, USA. The contributions come from scientists interested in this emerging field. They discuss the progress in topics covering everything from stellar evolution and envelopes, to opacities, radiation transport and x-ray photoionized plasmas.