{"id":51,"date":"2016-01-14T17:31:39","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T17:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-optics-wp.pantheonsite.io\/opti551r\/?page_id=51"},"modified":"2016-01-14T17:31:39","modified_gmt":"2016-01-14T17:31:39","slug":"course-description","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/course-description\/","title":{"rendered":"Course Description"},"content":{"rendered":"

Course description<\/strong>
\nOPTI 511R is an\u00a0introduction<\/em>\u00a0to basic concepts of optical physics and the interaction between light and matter.\u00a0 This course is designed to give optics students a broad understanding of the generation and absorption of light by matter,\u00a0 and how light can be used to manipulate properties of matter and be manipulated by matter.\u00a0 In this course, basic ideas from quantum mechanics\u00a0will be introduced and used to develop\u00a0a fully quantum model of the atom that will enable a deeper understanding of light-matter interactions\u00a0beyond the classical Lorentz model (or more specifically, the interaction between a classical light field and an ensemble of atoms in a dilute gas).\u00a0After developing a perspective on both classical and semi-classical pictures of light-matter interactions, the basic properties of laser operation will be explored. The course is not designed as a broad survey of laser systems, but rather a careful look at the classical and quantum perspectives of light-matter interaction and the properties of this interaction that make laser operation possible. \u00a0A few examples of different laser systems that exemplify specific properties will be given, however the course is not intended as a laser engineering course. A brief introduction to a fully quantum model of light-matter interactions and the field of quantum optics will be given towards the end of the course. While previous courses in physics would indeed be helpful,\u00a0this course is designed to be accessible to students who have a general science or engineering background and basic familiarity with using complex numbers, matrices, and differential equations.\u00a0\u00a0 Previous courses in quantum mechanics are NOT required.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Course emphasis<\/strong>
\nBecause this is an introductory course covering many topics, this course will not develop detailed exploration of all subjects that will be covered. If you have further interest in any of the course topics, other specialized classes cover the subjects in detail.\u00a0 In this respect, OPTI 511R covers material that is fundamental to many other Optics courses in quantum optics and photonics.\u00a0 In OPTI 511R, an emphasis will be placed on the learning of new concepts, rather than detailed mathematical derivation of all of the subjects. Many of the concepts of quantum mechanics and quantum optics may seem strange and non-intuitive. For some of these concepts, an initial (perhaps tentative) acceptance will be needed until they become more\u00a0familiar.\u00a0 The math used in this course is generally not difficult. However, learning the mathematical formalism and the application of the mathematical tools can be tricky and confusing. Many simple tricks and approximations exist to solve problems, some of which we will explore.
\nThe language of optical physics and quantum mechanics can also be confusing at times. Previously familiar words take on new meanings or new mathematical formalism, and a single concept can have various mathematical representations or notations on paper. As in most scientific disciplines, different authors and instructors use different symbols to represent identical concepts. In this course, it is the concept that is of primary importance; given a symbol or a problem, you must interpret the expression or method to solve the problem, and extract the relevant concepts.\u00a0<\/strong>
\n
\n<\/u><\/p>\n

General Course syllabus and topics list<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Quantum Mechanics
\n<\/strong>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Introduction to quantum mechanics, wave\/particle duality, uncertainty principle
\n2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Quantum mechanics of free and bound particles, wave packets
\n3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Schr\u00f6dinger equation, wave functions, eigenvalue equations
\n4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Postulates of quantum mechanics
\n5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Measurements in quantum mechanics, expectation values
\n6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Quantum harmonic oscillator
\n7. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Dirac notation, matrix formulation of quantum mechanics
\n8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hydrogen atom, quantum mechanics of the real hydrogen atom
\n9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Spin angular momentum, Pauli exclusion principle<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Optical Physics
\n<\/strong>10.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hamiltonian for light\/matter interaction, time-dependent probability amplitudes
\n11.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Electric dipole approximation, Rotating wave approximation
\n12.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Two-level atom approximation, Rabi oscillations
\n13.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Collisional decay and spontaneous emission, rate equations
\n14.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Blackbody radiation, Einstein A and B coefficients
\n15.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Steady-state absorption coefficient, saturation
\n16.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Inhomogeneous line broadening, absorption lineshapes
\n17.\u00a0 Quantization of the electromagnetic field, vacuum field fluctuations, photon statistics
\nLasers
\n<\/strong>18.\u00a0 Optical resonators, resonator stability
\n19.\u00a0 Population inversion
\n20.\u00a0 Threshold gain and steady-state laser operation
\n21.\u00a0 Laser output characteristics and output control
\n22.\u00a0 Pulsed lasers, Q-switching,\u00a0 mode locking
\n23.\u00a0 Survey of lasers and output characteristics<\/p>\n

Prereqs:<\/strong>\u00a0OPTI 501 and basic linear algebra
\n\u00a0Particularly, it is assumed that the following concepts will be familiar:<\/strong>
\n1.\u00a0 Wave equation and complex representation of EM waves
\n2.\u00a0 Lorentz oscillator model, absorption, and refractive index
\n3.\u00a0 Basic operations with vectors and complex variables
\n4.\u00a0 Manipulation of matrices
\n5.\u00a0 Eigenvalues and eigenvectors\/eigenfunctions in algebraic and matrix forms.
\n6.\u00a0 Basic properties of Fourier transforms
\n7.\u00a0 Separation of variables method of solving partial differential equations
\nIf you are weak in any of these areas, you may need to do some extra work during the course of OPTI 511.\u00a0 Some key ideas will be reviewed, but these topics will not be taught from scratch.
\nAgain, previous courses in physics will be helpful, but are not required.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0This course is designed to be accessible to students without a physics background.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Course description OPTI 511R is an\u00a0introduction\u00a0to basic concepts of optical physics and the interaction between light and matter.\u00a0 This course is designed to give optics students a broad understanding of the generation and absorption of light by matter,\u00a0 and how light can be used to manipulate properties of matter and be manipulated by matter.\u00a0 In this course, basic ideas from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-51","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52,"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/51\/revisions\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.optics.arizona.edu\/opti511r\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}