Description:

These lectures will review the state-of-the-art knowledge in the field of short high power laser pulse interactions with matter and its applications.

Contents:

1) High power lasers, from nanoseconds to femtoseconds
2) Interaction with single atoms - ionization of matter
3) Laser pulse interaction with single electron
4) Introduction to laser plasma physics - basic parameters and terms
5) The three approaches to plasma physics
6) Laser absorption and propagation in underdense and overdense plasmas
7) Thermal conduction, heat and shock waves
8) Laser plasma interaction in relativistic regime
9) Applications of short pulse laser matter interactions

Recommended literature:

Key references:
[1] Paul Gibbon, Short pulse laser interactions with matter an introduction, Imperial College Press 2005.

Recommended references:
[2] D. A. Jaroszynski, R. A. Bingham, R. A. Cairns, Laser-Plasma Interactions, Taylor and Francis 2009.
[3] S. Eliezer, The Interaction of High-Power Lasers with Plasmas, Institute of Physics Publishing 2002.

Keywords:

Laser plasma physics, laser absorption, overdense and underdense plasmas.

Abbreviations used:

Semester:

• W ... winter semester (usually October - February)
• S ... spring semester (usually March - June)
• W,S ... both semesters

Mode of completion of the course:

• A ... Assessment (no grade is given to this course but credits are awarded. You will receive only P (Passed) of F (Failed) and number of credits)
• GA ... Graded Assessment (a grade is awarded for this course)
• EX ... Examination (a grade is awarded for this course)
• A, EX ... Examination (the award of Assessment is a precondition for taking the Examination in the given subject, a grade is awarded for this course)

Weekly load (hours per week):

• P ... lecture
• C ... seminar
• L ... laboratory
• R ... proseminar
• S ... seminar