We develop a method of spectroscopy that uses a weak static magnetic field to enable direct optical excitation of forbidden electric-dipole transitions that are otherwise prohibitively weak. The power of this scheme is demonstrated using the important application of optical atomic clocks based on neutral atoms confined to an optical lattice. The simple experimental implementation of this method...

The diffraction of light by a single subwavelength hole in a highly conductive metallic sheet is analyzed with a recently developed differential theory that is able to plot the nearly electromagnetic field. Using rigorous electromagnetic and phenomenological analysis, we show that a single subwavelength hole can excite surface-plasmon resonance that contributes greatly to extraordinary transmis...

In laser-plasma experiments, we observed that ion acceleration from the Coulomb explosion of the plasma channel bored by the laser is prevented when multiple plasma instabilities, such as filamentation and hosing, and nonlinear coherent structures (vortices or postsolitons) appear in the wake of an ultrashort laser pulse. The tailoring of the longitudinal plasma density ramp allows us to contro...

We theoretically analyze a method for characterizing propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on a thin gold film. The SPPs are excited by few-cycle near-infrared pulses using Kretschmann coupling, and a nanotip is used as a local field sensor. This geometry removes the influence of the incident excitation laser from the near fields, and enhances the plasmon electric field strength. Using ...

Seeded free electron lasers theoretically have the intensity, tunability, and resolution required for multiphoton spectroscopy of atomic and molecular species. Using the seeded free electron laser FERMI and a novel detection scheme, we have revealed the two-photon excitation spectra of dipole-forbidden doubly excited states in helium. The spectral profiles of the lowest (-1,0)(+1) (1)S(e) and (...

We argue that the observed large-scale cosmic microwave anomalies, discovered by WMAP and confirmed by the Planck satellite, are most naturally explained in the context of a marginally open universe. Particular focus is placed on the dipole power asymmetry, via an open universe implementation of the large-scale gradient mechanism of Erickcek et al. Open inflation models, which are motivated by ...

Photoionization of molecules sputtered from molecular thin films has been achieved using high field 125 fs pulses in the mid-IR spectral range. Using several model systems, we show that it is possible to significantly reduce molecular fragmentation induced by the laser field by increasing the photoionization wavelength. By examining the photoionization spectra as a function of wavelength, it is...

Subfemtosecond control of the breaking and making of chemical bonds in polyatomic molecules is poised to open new pathways for the laser-driven synthesis of chemical products. The break-up of the C-H bond in hydrocarbons is an ubiquitous process during laser-induced dissociation. While the yield of the deprotonation of hydrocarbons has been successfully manipulated in recent studies, full contr...

Relaxation to equilibrium after strong and collective excitation is studied by using a Hamiltonian dynamical system of a one-dimensional XY model. After an excitation of a domain of K elements, the excitation is concentrated to fewer elements, which are made farther away from equilibrium, and the excitation intensity increases logarithmically with K. Equilibrium is reached only after taking thi...

As yet games have not achieved the engagement factor seen in the movie industry, the holy grail for any games designer is to engage, excite and attract their players without running into the downside of addiction. There are two major factors to achieving this goal that need to be considered: Does the player “Believe” the game The emotional “roller-coaster” ride experienced by the player If thes...