Università Roma Tre

The physics of laser: blackbody radiation, Einstein equation, interaction of light with a two-level atom, gain and attenuation. Optical transitions in semiconductors. CW and pulsed operation of a laser.

Optical coherence and quantisation of the e.m. field: classical theory of fluctuations, first- and second-order coherence. E.m. field as a harmonic oscillator, quantisation and quantum theory of optical coherence. Number states, coherent states, and thermal states. Interaction picture: beam splitter and squeezing hamiltonians. Homodyne detection and photon counting. Quasi-probability distributions.

Non-linear optics: introduction and classical treatment. Brief sketching of the quantum treatment. Second-order non-linear effects: second-harmonic generation, sum- and difference-frequency generation, parametric down conversion. Third-order effects: optical Kerr effect and self-phase modulation, filamentation. Nonlinear Schroedinger equation and temporal solitons.

Quantum correlations: local realism and EPR-Bohm paradox. Bell's inequality, and its optical test.

R. Loudon, The quantum theory of light. Chap. 1-6
O. Svelto, Principles of lasers. Chap 1-9
R. Boyd, Nonlinear optics. Chap. 1, 2, 7
J.S. Bell, Speakable and unspeakable in quantum mechanics. Chap. 2