U. of T. Modern Optics Mini-Workshop '02 -- First Announcement
(last updated 7 November 2002)
All students in PHY 485/1860 will be expected to prepare a presentation
on a topic of current research interest in optical physics. We will
hold a Modern Optics "Mini-Workshop," probably one weekend at the end
of term, during which each student will give a 20-minute presentation
(including 4 minutes for answering questions).
Grades will be based on presentation, handling of questions, and also
on participation in discussion after the other students' talks.
The level of the talks should assume this course as sole starting point,
and quickly move beyond the topics treated in class to discuss recent
research. They should demonstrate a mastery of the basic elements of
modern optics research, and an ability to explain new effects in the
context of the broader field of optical physics.
I would like each student to choose a topic of interest to him or her,
and write a one-paragraph abstract, to be emailed to me in plain-text
format by 15 November, 2002. These abstracts will be posted on the web,
and will provide me with an opportunity to redirect you if there is
a concern that you would be unable to carry the project out in the
spirit of the assignment.
Sample titles from last year are available
at
www.physics.utoronto.ca/~aephraim/485/workshop.01.html,
and titles and abstracts from 1999 at
http://helios.physics.utoronto.ca/~aephraim/485-00/workshop/.
Some potential topics might include (but are by no means limited to):
Electromagnetically-induced transparency and slow light
Attosecond physics
High-harmonic generation
Physical limits on high-power lasers
Experimental approaches to quantum cryptography
Efficient linear-optical quantum computation
Quantum-optical tests of Bell's Inequalities
Laser cooling and Sisyphus cooling
Chaos in laser cavities
Lasing without inversion
X-Ray lasers
Quantum cascade lasers
Generation and application of squeezed light
Single-photon sources
Optical frequency standards and the future of timekeeping
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