Lasers

About the Authors Peter W. Milonni is a staff member of the Theoretical Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Professor of Physics at the University of Arkansas. Previously he held positions with the Perkin--Elmer Corporation and the Air Force Weapons Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Rochester. Dr. Milonni is the author of numerous research and review papers on quantum optics, atomic radiation theory, and lasers, and is co--author of Chaos in Laser--Matter Interactions. Joseph H. Eberly is Professor of Physics and of Optics at the University of Rochester. Dr. Eberly has contributed to the research literature on quantum optics and laser physics. He has received a number of awards and fellowships from US and foreign organizations, most recently the Marian Smoluchowski Medal. He has acted as consultant to agencies of the US government, to foundations and to private industry, and has held visiting positions in Warsaw, Stanford, Boulder, London, Munich, and elsewhere. Dr. Eberly is co--author of Optical Resonance and Two--Level Atoms, and co--editor of Multiphoton Processes. He received his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University.

Useful Tables. Introduction to Laser Operation. Classical Dispersion Theory. Classical Theory of Absorption. Atoms, Molecules, and Solids. The Schrodinger Equation. The Time--Dependent Schrodinger Equation. Emission and Absorption and Rate Equations. Semiclassical Radiation Theory. Wave--Particle Duality of Light. Laser Oscillation: Gain and Threshold. Laser Oscillation: Power and Frequency. Multimode and Transient Oscillation. Specific Lasers and Pumping Mechanisms. Laser Resonators. Optical Coherence and Lasers. Some Laser Applications. Introduction to Nonlinear Optics. Nonlinear Optics: Higher--Order Processes.