Max Zolotorev

Bio: Max Zolotorev is an academic researcher from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The author has contributed to research in topics: Laser & Femtosecond. The author has an hindex of 24, co-authored 131 publications receiving 3581 citations. Previous affiliations of Max Zolotorev include Stanford University.

Generation of femtosecond pulses of synchrotron radiation

Abstract: Femtosecond synchrotron pulses were generated directly from an electron storage ring. An ultrashort laser pulse was used to modulate the energy of electrons within a 100-femtosecond slice of the stored 30-picosecond electron bunch. The energy-modulated electrons were spatially separated from the long bunch and used to generate ∼300-femtosecond synchrotron pulses at a bend-magnet beamline, with a spectral range from infrared to x-ray wavelengths. The same technique can be used to generate ∼100-femtosecond x-ray pulses of substantially higher flux and brightness with an undulator. Such synchrotron-based femtosecond x-ray sources offer the possibility of applying x-ray techniques on an ultrafast time scale to investigate structural dynamics in condensed matter.

Femtosecond X-ray Pulses at 0.4 Å Generated by 90° Thomson Scattering: A Tool for Probing the Structural Dynamics of Materials

Abstract: Pulses of x-rays 300 femtoseconds in duration at a wavelength of 04 angstroms (30,000 electron volts) have been generated by 90° Thomson scattering between infrared terawatt laser pulses and highly relativistic electrons from an accelerator In the right-angle scattering geometry, the duration of the x-ray burst is determined by the transit time of the laser pulse across the ∼ 90-micrometer waist of the focused electron beam The x-rays are highly directed (∼ 06° divergence) and can be tuned in energy This source of femtosecond x-rays will make it possible to combine x-ray techniques with ultrafast time resolution to investigate structural dynamics in condensed matter

Status of muon collider research and development and future plans

Abstract: The status of the research on muon colliders is discussed and plans are outlined for future theoretical and experimental studies. Besides work on the parameters of a 3--4 and 0.5 TeV center-of-mass (COM) energy collider, many studies are now concentrating on a machine near 0.1 TeV (COM) that could be a factory for the $s$-channel production of Higgs particles. We discuss the research on the various components in such muon colliders, starting from the proton accelerator needed to generate pions from a heavy-$Z$ target and proceeding through the phase rotation and decay ($\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\mu}{\ensuremath{ u}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$) channel, muon cooling, acceleration, storage in a collider ring, and the collider detector. We also present theoretical and experimental R plans for the next several years that should lead to a better understanding of the design and feasibility issues for all of the components. This report is an update of the progress on the research and development since the feasibility study of muon colliders presented at the Snowmass '96 Workshop [R. B. Palmer, A. Sessler, and A. Tollestrup, Proceedings of the 1996 DPF/DPB Summer Study on High-Energy Physics (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, CA, 1997)].

Sensitive Magnetometry based on Nonlinear Magneto-Optical Rotation

Abstract: Application of nonlinear magneto-optical (Faraday) rotation to magnetometry is investigated Our experimental setup consists of a modulation polarimeter that measures rotation of the polarization plane of a laser beam resonant with transitions in Rb Rb vapor is contained in an evacuated cell with antirelaxation coating that enables atomic ground-state polarization to survive many thousand wall collisions This leads to ultranarrow features $(\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}6} \mathrm{G})$ in the magnetic-field dependence of optical rotation The potential sensitivity of this scheme to sub-$\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{G}$ magnetic fields as a function of atomic density, light intensity, and light frequency is investigated near the $D1$ and $D2$ lines of ${}^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ It is shown that through an appropriate choice of parameters the shot-noise-limited sensitivity to small magnetic fields can reach $3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}12} \mathrm{G}/\sqrt{\mathrm{Hz}}$

Femtosecond x-ray pulses of synchrotron radiation.

Abstract: A method capable of producing femtosecond pulses of synchrotron radiation is proposed. It is based on the interaction of femtosecond light pulses with electrons in a storage ring. The application of the method to the generation of ultrashort x-ray pulses at the Advanced Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been considered. The same method can also be used for extraction of electrons from a storage ring in ultrashort series of microbunches spaced by the periodicity of light wavelength.

Electromagnetically induced transparency : Optics in coherent media

Abstract: Coherent preparation by laser light of quantum states of atoms and molecules can lead to quantum interference in the amplitudes of optical transitions. In this way the optical properties of a medium can be dramatically modified, leading to electromagnetically induced transparency and related effects, which have placed gas-phase systems at the center of recent advances in the development of media with radically new optical properties. This article reviews these advances and the new possibilities they offer for nonlinear optics and quantum information science. As a basis for the theory of electromagnetically induced transparency the authors consider the atomic dynamics and the optical response of the medium to a continuous-wave laser. They then discuss pulse propagation and the adiabatic evolution of field-coupled states and show how coherently prepared media can be used to improve frequency conversion in nonlinear optical mixing experiments. The extension of these concepts to very weak optical fields in the few-photon limit is then examined. The review concludes with a discussion of future prospects and potential new applications.

Long-distance quantum communication with atomic ensembles and linear optics

Abstract: Quantum communication holds promise for absolutely secure transmission of secret messages and the faithful transfer of unknown quantum states. Photonic channels appear to be very attractive for the physical implementation of quantum communication. However, owing to losses and decoherence in the channel, the communication fidelity decreases exponentially with the channel length. Here we describe a scheme that allows the implementation of robust quantum communication over long lossy channels. The scheme involves laser manipulation of atomic ensembles, beam splitters, and single-photon detectors with moderate efficiencies, and is therefore compatible with current experimental technology. We show that the communication efficiency scales polynomially with the channel length, and hence the scheme should be operable over very long distances.

Intense few-cycle laser fields: Frontiers of nonlinear optics

Abstract: The rise time of intense radiation determines the maximum field strength atoms can be exposed to before their polarizability dramatically drops due to the detachment of an outer electron. Recent progress in ultrafast optics has allowed the generation of ultraintense light pulses comprising merely a few field oscillation cycles. The arising intensity gradient allows electrons to survive in their bound atomic state up to external field strengths many times higher than the binding Coulomb field and gives rise to ionization rates comparable to the light frequency, resulting in a significant extension of the frontiers of nonlinear optics and (nonrelativistic) high-field physics. Implications include the generation of coherent harmonic radiation up to kiloelectronvolt photon energies and control of the atomic dipole moment on a subfemtosecond $(1{\mathrm{f}\mathrm{s}=10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}15}\mathrm{}\mathrm{s})$ time scale. This review presents the landmarks of the 30-odd-year evolution of ultrashort-pulse laser physics and technology culminating in the generation of intense few-cycle light pulses and discusses the impact of these pulses on high-field physics. Particular emphasis is placed on high-order harmonic emission and single subfemtosecond extreme ultraviolet/x-ray pulse generation. These as well as other strong-field processes are governed directly by the electric-field evolution, and hence their full control requires access to the (absolute) phase of the light carrier. We shall discuss routes to its determination and control, which will, for the first time, allow access to the electromagnetic fields in light waves and control of high-field interactions with never-before-achieved precision.

The Quantum Theory of Light

Abstract: (b) Write out the equations for the time dependence of ρ11, ρ22, ρ12 and ρ21 assuming that a light field interaction V = -μ12Ee iωt + c.c. couples only levels |1> and |2>, and that the excited levels exhibit spontaneous decay. (8 marks) (c) Under steady-state conditions, find the ratio of populations in states |2> and |3>. (3 marks) (d) Find the slowly varying amplitude ̃ ρ 12 of the polarization ρ12 = ̃ ρ 12e iωt . (6 marks) (e) In the limiting case that no decay is possible from intermediate level |3>, what is the ground state population ρ11(∞)? (2 marks) 2. (15 marks total) In a 2-level atom system subjected to a strong field, dressed states are created in the form |D1(n)> = sin θ |1,n> + cos θ |2,n-1> |D2(n)> = cos θ |1,n> sin θ |2,n-1>

High-quality electron beams from a laser wakefield accelerator using plasma-channel guiding

Abstract: Laser-driven accelerators, in which particles are accelerated by the electric field of a plasma wave (the wakefield) driven by an intense laser, have demonstrated accelerating electric fields of hundreds of GV m-1 (refs 1–3) These fields are thousands of times greater than those achievable in conventional radio-frequency accelerators, spurring interest in laser accelerators4,5 as compact next-generation sources of energetic electrons and radiation To date, however, acceleration distances have been severely limited by the lack of a controllable method for extending the propagation distance of the focused laser pulse The ensuing short acceleration distance results in low-energy beams with 100 per cent electron energy spread1,2,3, which limits potential applications Here we demonstrate a laser accelerator that produces electron beams with an energy spread of a few per cent, low emittance and increased energy (more than 109 electrons above 80 MeV) Our technique involves the use of a preformed plasma density channel to guide a relativistically intense laser, resulting in a longer propagation distance The results open the way for compact and tunable high-brightness sources of electrons and radiation