Gerard Mourou

Bio: Gerard Mourou is an academic researcher from École Polytechnique. The author has contributed to research in topics: Laser & Ultrashort pulse. The author has an hindex of 82, co-authored 653 publications receiving 34147 citations. Previous affiliations of Gerard Mourou include University of Michigan & San Diego State University.

Kilohertz synchronous amplification of 85-femtosecond optical pulses

Abstract: High-repetition-rate laser pulse amplifiers are desirable for investigations of weak signals because of the ability to use ultrasensitive lock-in detection. We have developed a new oscillator and amplifier capable of providing 10 MW of power at repetition rates in excess of 1 kHz. By focusing this pulse we have obtained the white-light continuum with as little as 250 nJ of energy.

Subpicosecond time-resolved studies of coherent phonon oscillations in thin-film yba2cu3o6+x (x< 0.4)

Abstract: We report the results of the first time‐resolved observation of impulsively generated coherent optical phonon oscillations in the semiconducting cuprate compound YBa2Cu3O6+x (x<0.4). The oscillations, which were probed through time‐resolved transmissivity modulation, had a period of 237 fs at room temperature, corresponding to a Raman active mode of A1g symmetry at 142 cm−1. No oscillations were observed in the superconducting form of Y‐Ba‐Cu‐O either above or below Tc. The amplitude, frequency, and linewidth of this mode were measured over a temperature range from ∼7 K to room temperature.

Noncontact electro-optic sampling with a GaAs injection laser

Abstract: 30 ps pulses from a diode laser have been used to perform noncontact electric field measurements using a versatile `finger probe? electro-optic sampling technique.

Accelerating Plasma Mirrors to Investigate the Black Hole Information Loss Paradox

Abstract: The question of whether Hawking evaporation violates unitarity, and therefore results in the loss of information, has remained unresolved since Hawking's seminal discovery. To date, the investigations have remained mostly theoretical since it is almost impossible to settle this paradox through direct astrophysical black hole observations. Here, we point out that relativistic plasma mirrors can be accelerated drastically and stopped abruptly by impinging intense x-ray pulses on solid plasma targets with a density gradient. This is analogous to the late time evolution of black hole Hawking evaporation. A conception of such an experiment is proposed and a self-consistent set of physical parameters is presented. Critical issues, such as how the black hole unitarity may be preserved, can be addressed through the entanglement between the analog Hawking radiation photons and their partner modes.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

A roadmap for graphene

Abstract: Recent years have witnessed many breakthroughs in research on graphene (the first two-dimensional atomic crystal) as well as a significant advance in the mass production of this material. This one-atom-thick fabric of carbon uniquely combines extreme mechanical strength, exceptionally high electronic and thermal conductivities, impermeability to gases, as well as many other supreme properties, all of which make it highly attractive for numerous applications. Here we review recent progress in graphene research and in the development of production methods, and critically analyse the feasibility of various graphene applications.

Black Hole Explosions

Abstract: QUANTUM gravitational effects are usually ignored in calculations of the formation and evolution of black holes. The justification for this is that the radius of curvature of space-time outside the event horizon is very large compared to the Planck length (Għ/c3)1/2 ≈ 10−33 cm, the length scale on which quantum fluctuations of the metric are expected to be of order unity. This means that the energy density of particles created by the gravitational field is small compared to the space-time curvature. Even though quantum effects may be small locally, they may still, however, add up to produce a significant effect over the lifetime of the Universe ≈ 1017 s which is very long compared to the Planck time ≈ 10−43 s. The purpose of this letter is to show that this indeed may be the case: it seems that any black hole will create and emit particles such as neutrinos or photons at just the rate that one would expect if the black hole was a body with a temperature of (κ/2π) (ħ/2k) ≈ 10−6 (M/M)K where κ is the surface gravity of the black hole1. As a black hole emits this thermal radiation one would expect it to lose mass. This in turn would increase the surface gravity and so increase the rate of emission. The black hole would therefore have a finite life of the order of 1071 (M/M)−3 s. For a black hole of solar mass this is much longer than the age of the Universe. There might, however, be much smaller black holes which were formed by fluctuations in the early Universe2. Any such black hole of mass less than 1015 g would have evaporated by now. Near the end of its life the rate of emission would be very high and about 1030 erg would be released in the last 0.1 s. This is a fairly small explosion by astronomical standards but it is equivalent to about 1 million 1 Mton hydrogen bombs. It is often said that nothing can escape from a black hole. But in 1974, Stephen Hawking realized that, owing to quantum effects, black holes should emit particles with a thermal distribution of energies — as if the black hole had a temperature inversely proportional to its mass. In addition to putting black-hole thermodynamics on a firmer footing, this discovery led Hawking to postulate 'black hole explosions', as primordial black holes end their lives in an accelerating release of energy.

Materials for terahertz science and technology

Abstract: Terahertz spectroscopy systems use far-infrared radiation to extract molecular spectral information in an otherwise inaccessible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Materials research is an essential component of modern terahertz systems: novel, higher-power terahertz sources rely heavily on new materials such as quantum cascade structures. At the same time, terahertz spectroscopy and imaging provide a powerful tool for the characterization of a broad range of materials, including semiconductors and biomolecules.