Monday, January 12, 2015

TOMORROW! Seminar: "Modeling of ultrashort pulse laser-matter interactions" by J. P. Palastro 1.13.15/ 1:30-2:30pm/ CREOL RM 103

Seminar: "Modeling of ultrashort pulse laser-matter interactions" by J. P. Palastro
Tuesday, January 13, 2015 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM
CREOL Room 103

Celebrating the International Year of Light 2015

J. P. Palastro
Icarus Research, Naval Research Laboratory Contractor
Washington, DC 20375

Abstract:
An intense femtosecond laser pulse propagating through matter induces a dynamic, nonlinear dielectric response. Through the dielectric response, the matter modifies propagation of the pulse. This feedback—the laser matter interaction—results in a number of fascinating phenomena: collimated pulse propagation over 100’s of meters in atmosphere, the formation of plasma wakefields, pulse compression and amplification, induced birefringence, and frequency conversion. Consequently, these pulses are of potential interest to the DoD for applications including, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), directed energy beacon beams, remote radiation generation, and lightning initiation. Here I will discuss a variety of topics in ultrashort pulse laser-matter interactions from a theoretical and computational standpoint. Primarily, I will demonstrate that the multi-pulse excitation of molecular rotations in atmosphere can provide an effective travelling lens that can collimate and compress laser pulses. Additional topics such as nonlinear birefringence and turbulence in atmosphere, laser-material interactions, plasma-based particle acceleration, and mid-infrared and x-ray generation in plasmas will be discussed briefly.
  
Biography:
Dr. John Patrick Palastro is a theoretical and computational physicist. His primary focus is in applied electromagnetics with emphasis on nonlinear laser pulse propagation in a variety of media, plasma physics, advanced accelerators, and radiation generation. John received his B.S. degree, Summa Cum Laude, in Applied Mathematics in 2002 from Clemson University and his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Maryland College Park in 2007. The title of his thesis was “Interaction of Lasers with Atomic Clusters and Structured Plasmas”. He served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 2007 until 2009 where he investigated nonlinear laser plasma processes relevant to inertial confinement fusion. From 2009-2014, John was a research scientist in the Institute for Research in Electronic and Applied Physics at the University of Maryland where his primary focus was the propagation of high power lasers through atmosphere. He then joined the Naval Research Laboratory as a contractor in 2014 where he began investigating laser-material interactions and laser-plasma based X-ray sources.

For additional information:
Dr. Martin C. Richardson

Pegasus Professor and University Trustee Chair, Northrop G

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