[Physstaff] FW: GlasgowU Additional colloquium next week 6/4 by Matteo Clerici

[Daniel Oi]

FYI Colloquium at Glasgow University Physics next week.


From: Sonja Franke-Arnold [mailto:Sonja.Franke-Arnold at glasgow.ac.uk]
Sent: 01 April 2016 14:04
Subject: Additional colloquium next week 6/4 by Matteo Clerici

Dear All,

Quick warning about next week's extra colloquium:

speaker:  Matteo Clerici (Engineering, Glasgow)
title:  "Air breakdown with intense laser pulses: efficient generation and detection of far infrared radiation, and taming electric discharges"  (abstract below)

on Wednesday 6/4 at 3pm
in room 257

As usual coffee and doughnuts in the common room afterwards.

Matteo joined the School of Engineering last October and has open positions for PhD students - if you or someone you know would be interested in this opportunity here's your chance to find out more!

Note also the remaining colloquia:  Gordon Love on 13/4, Martina Gernken on 20/4 and Christiane Helling on 27/4!


Abstract:
Ultrashort pulses of few tens of femtoseconds duration can reach extremely high intensities, enabling strong coupling with matter. When focused in gasses for instance, ionisation of the atoms and molecules occurs, with consequent emission of secondary radiation at the extremes of the spectrum, i.e. at THz frequencies and and Extreme UV wavelengths.
Terahertz is a fascinating spectral region that boasts relevant applications, e.g. explosive detection, and interesting challenges to our understanding of light matter interaction. I will discuss how THz single cycle pulses can be efficiently generated and detected by laser-induced gas breakdown.
Laser-induced gas ionisation has yet another interesting effect: it heats the air, locally reducing the density. I will show how we can exploit this effect to guide sparks (electric discharges) over unusual paths, e.g. parabolic trajectories that allow to overcome obstacles.
I shall conclude the talk with an overview on my ongoing and future investigations in the field of ultrafast photonics, and I wish to present intriguing research opportunities for enthusiast PhD candidates.

Best wishes,
Sonja
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