The project will develop new dynamical methods to control the resonant light-matter interaction through modulation in time and/or in space of the parameters of the resonant atomic transition (frequencies and/or line widths) by means of the strong off-resonant control field. It includes the development of (i) a new highly efficient method for the formation of the VUV and XUV attosecond pulses via the spectrum broadening by means of the temporal modulation of the atomic parameters and (ii) a method to produce and to control optically the photonic structures in a homogeneous atomic media via special modulation of the refractive index induced by the strong laser field. A theory of the VUV and XUV radiation transformation during its propagation through an optically thick resonantly absorbing atomic medium, dynamically perturbed by a strong IR or optical laser radiation, will be developed. It will advance understanding and control of the strong ultrafast light-matter interactions, including appreciation of the role of the resonant, interference, and cooperative effects in such interactions.
Attosec pulses provide a unique ultrafast tool for recording and control of the electronic motion in atoms, molecules, and nanostructures, leading to profound applications in chemistry and biology, medicine and energetics. Development of the new method of attosecond pulse formation with the pulse characteristics superior or complementary to those produced by the current high-harmonic-generation technique will further push those strategically and fundamentally important applications. Development of the new method for an optical production of the photonic structures in the homogeneously distributed atomic ensembles with the widely variable parameters, determined by the intensity and frequency of the control field, will essentially extend the applications of such structures for the control and manipulation of the flow of light. The graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in these interdisciplinary fields of atomic, molecular, and optical science, learning and developing the methods of coherent control of the light-matter interaction in the ultrafast strong-field regimes based on the modern laser technologies. Collaboration with experimental groups will be initiated, aiming at implementation of the newly developed dynamical methods of coherent control in the experimental investigations.
