This graduate-level textbook gives an introductory overview of the fundamentals of quantum nonlinear optics. It deals with the organization of radiation field, interaction between electronic system and radiation field, statistics of light, and mutual manipulation of light and matter. It also covers laser oscillation, dynamics of light, nonlinear optical response, and nonlinear spectroscopy, as well as ultrashort and ultrastrong laser pulse. In addition, latest results of the frontier of this science are presented. Problems and solutions help the reader to master and review the material.

This self-contained treatment of field quantization requires no prior knowledge of nonlinear optics. Supplemented by end-of-chapter exercises and detailed examples of calculation techniques in different systems, it is a valuable resource for graduate students and researchers in nonlinear optics, condensed matter physics, quantum information and atomic physics.

Nonlinear Optics, Quantum Optics, and Ultrafast Phenomena with X-Rays is an introduction to cutting-edge science that is beginning to emerge on state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation facilities and will come to flourish with the x-ray free-electron lasers currently being planned. It is intended for the use by scientists at synchrotron radiation facilities working with the combination of x-rays and lasers and those preparing for the science at x-ray free-electron lasers. In the past decade synchrotron radiation sources have experienced a tremendous increase in their brilliance and other figures of merit. This progress, driven strongly by the scientific applications, is still going on and may actually be accelerating with the advent of x-ray free-electron lasers. As a result, a confluence of x-ray and laser physics is taking place, due to the increasing importance of laser concepts, such as coherence and nonlinear optics to the x-ray community and the importance of x-ray optics to the laser-generation of ultrashort pulses of x-rays.

Contemporary Nonlinear Optics discusses the different activities in the field of nonlinear optics. The book is comprised of 10 chapters. Chapter 1 presents a description of the field of nonlinear guided-wave optics. Chapter 2 surveys a new branch of nonlinear optics under the heading optical solitons. Chapter 3 reviews recent progress in the field of optical phase conjugation. Chapter 4 discusses ultrafast nonlinear optics, a field that is growing rapidly with the ability of generating and controlling femtosecond optical pulses. Chapter 5 examines a branch of nonlinear optics that may be termed nonlinear quantum optics. Chapter 6 reviews the new field of photorefractive adaptive neural networks. Chapter 7 presents a discussion of recent successes in the development of nonlinear optical media based on organic materials. Chapter 8 reviews the field of nonlinear optics in quantum confined structures. Chapter 9 reviews the field of nonlinear laser spectroscopy, with emphasis on advances made during the 1980s. Finally, Chapter 10 reviews the field of nonlinear optical dynamics by considering nonlinear optical systems that exhibit temporal, spatial, or spatio-temporal instabilities. This book is a valuable source for physicists and other scientists interested in optical systems and neural networks.

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.

This book is based on a course of lectures for advanced students. Part 1 is devoted to an introductory treatment of general concepts and methods to be used for describing nonlinear processes. Part 2 is concerned with the application of these concepts and methods to significant effects and processes, covering also the particular experimental arrangements, measuring methods, and empirical data connected with them.

Multi-photon excitation states of poly-atomic molecules undergoing a self-interaction via Kerr effect related processes are of great interest today. Their successful study must be both analytical and by means of modern quantum field theoretical tools. This book deals with these and related topics by developing modern quantum field theory methods for the analysis of radiative states in a nonlinear quantum-optical system. These lecture notes are ideally suited to graduate mathematical physics and physics students, but can also be of interest to mathematicians involved in applied physics problems, and physicists and chemists studying phenomena related with modern quantum-optical devices.