laser-atom interaction

A laser is generated when a collection atoms is stimulated between two highly-reflected mirrors. Photons bounce back and forth further stimulating light into a coherent (laser) beam.

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REWRITE Atoms are the most common SPELL lasing medium, and lasers perturb the electrons surrounding atoms. Atomic molecular and optical physicists study these interactions in depth to learn more about nature, and to develop better lasers.

During my graduate work, I joined two computational scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. My science advisor, Predrag Krstic, was interested in modeling quantum mechanical phenomena in short-pulse interactions. My computation advisor, Robert Harrison, was interested in creating a framework to empower scientists to take advantage of high performance computing (HPC). Together, they helped me create a computational experiment simulating how single-electron atoms (Hydrogen, $He^+$, $Li^{2+}$) responded to a strong, short laser pulse. This research was built on Robert Harrison's MADNESS framework. IMPROVE Sometimes it was exciting to develop world-class techonolgy; other times it was frustrating pausing science to improve the tool.

I wrote my thesis as a guide for those interested in computing strong laser-atom interactions. In it, I discuss my project's motivation, review competing algorithms for non-perturbative, laser-atom interactions, published my results, and outlined the potential future directions one could take this project.

My Physical Review A publication was a proof of concept which accomplished the following:

  • performed convergence studies to ensure self-consistency,

  • reproduced previously published results,

  • replicated an experimental pulse,

  • predicted an array of two-photon ionization effects,

  • demonstrated the flexibility of our code by modeling a 4D molecular hydrogen ion $H_2^+$ where we treated the internuclear coordinate on the same computational footing as the electron.