Springer Self-focusing: Past and Present: Fundamentals and Prospects: 114 (Topics in Applied Physics, 114)

Self-focusing has been an area of scientific investigation for nearly 50 years. This book covers the topic comprehensively, reviewing both theoretical and experimental investigations. It will be of interest to those working with lasers and their applications. From the Back Cover Self-focusing: Past and Present presents a comprehensive treatment of self-focusing and reviews both theoretical and experimental investigations of self-focusing. It connects the extensive early literature on self-focusing, filamentation, self-trapping, and collapse with more recent studies aimed at issues such as self-focusing of femtosecond pulses, white light generation, and the generation of filaments in air with lengths of more than 10 km. It also describes some modern advances in self-focusing theory including the influence of beam nonparaxiality on self-focusing collapse. In addition, this text reprints three key articles in the field, as well as the paper that describes the first laboratory observation of self-focusing phenomena with photographic evidence. Self-focusing: Past and Present is of interest to scientists and engineers working with lasers and their applications, as well as students, researchers, and laser and eye surgeons. About the Author Robert W. Boyd Prof. Boyd was born in Buffalo, NY. He received the B.S. degree in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Ph.D. degree in physics in 1977 from the University of California at Berkeley. His Ph.D. thesis was supervised by Professor Charles H. Townes and involves the use of nonlinear optical techniques in infrared detection for astronomy. Professor Boyd joined the faculty of the Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester in 1977 and since 1987 has held the position of Professor of Optics. Since July 2001 he has also held the position of the M. Parker Givens Professor of Optics, and since July 2002 has also held the position of Professor of Physics. His research interests include studies of "slow" and "fast" light propagation, quantum imaging techniques, nonlinear optical interactions, studies of the nonlinear optical properties of materials, the development of photonic devices including photonic biosensors, and studies of the quantum statistical properties of nonlinear optical interactions. Professor Boyd has written two books, including widely used text "Nonlinear optics", co-edited two anthologies, published over 230 research papers, and been awarded five patents. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the Optical Society of America and is a past chair of the Division of Laser Science of the American Physical Society. Svetlana G. Lukishova Dr. Lukishova was born in Moscow, Russia. She received her M.S. degree in Physics (with high honors) and Ph.D. degree (1977) from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (FizTech). Her M.S. and Ph.D. research was performed at the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Her Ph.D. thesis was supervised by P.P. Pashinin and Nobel Prize winner A.M. Prokhorov and involved spatial beam-profile and temporal pulse-shape control in laser-fusion systems. After holding research positions at the I.V. Kurchatov Nuclear Power Institute, Troitsk branch TRINITI (Moscow Region), the Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), and the Liquid Crystal Institute (Kent, Ohio), she joined the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester in 1999 where she holds the position of Senior Scientist. She has received a Long-Term Grant from the International Science (G. Soros) Foundation and Grants from the Russian Government and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research for her work on nonlinear optics. Dr. Lukishova’s research interests include both optical material and optical radiation properties. She has more than 30 years experience with the development of high-power laser systems and the interaction o