EVENT DETAILS AND ABSTRACT

Title: Nonlinear Wave Collapse of Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Speaker: Alex Gaeta
Speaker Info: Cornell University
Brief Description:
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Abstract:

Optical systems allow for the exploration of a wide range of nonlinear dynamical behavior. In this talk I will describe our theoretical and experimental studies on the propagation of ultrashort laser pulses in transparent media under conditions in which the power of the pulse is near or above the threshold power for catastrophic collapse. Such a system is nominally described by the 3-D nonlinear Schrodinger equation and can exhibit complex dynamics including self-similar collapse, temporal pulse splitting, optical shock-wave formation, supercontinuum generation, and multiple collapse events.