23rd annual International Laser Physics Workshop
(Sofia, July 14-18, 2014)

The twenty third annual International Laser Physics Workshop (LPHYS'14) was held from to in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria, at the Ramada Sofia Hotel, hosted by Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Sofia

LPHYS'14.    Special Tribute:

The LPHYS'14 Organizing and Steering Committees have announced their decision that this year LPHYS'14 will be dedicated to paying tribute to two major events:

50th anniversary of 1964 Nobel Prize in physics

The Committees would like to remind all the participants that this year the scientific world will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Prize in physics awarded in to three brilliant scientists Charles H Townes, Nikolay G Basov and Alexander M Prokhorov "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle".

Charles H Townes
Charles H Townes
Nikolay G Basov
Nikolay G Basov
Alexander M Prokhorov
Alexander M Prokhorov

In one of the three laureates, Professor Alexander M. Prokhorov, was the leading founder of the annual International Laser Physics Workshop (LPHYS'). In the following ten years he served as the conference permanent Chairman until his death in .

145th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) has been a successor of the Bulgarian Literary Society, founded in . The Academy is the Bulgarian nation's foremost scientific organization that is responsible for organizing and directing basic and applied research conducted in Bulgaria in the fields of natural, technical and social sciences. BAS also participates in supervising educational activities in the country and in formulating the national policy for science and technology.

BAS Headquarters
Headquarters of BAS at Tzar Osvoboditel Blvd near Bulgarian Parliament
Rosen Plevneliev
President of the Republic of Bulgaria Mr. Rosen Plevneliev
Stefan Vodenicharov
President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Acad. Stefan Vodenicharov

The Committees have the pleasure to announce that the meeting of the International Laser Physics Workshop (LPHYS'14) will be under the High Patronage of Mr. Rosen Plevneliev, President of the Republic of Bulgaria who has been scheduled to present his opening remarks at the conference opening session.

The President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Acad. Stefan Vodenicharov, D.Sc. will subsequently deliver his welcome address to the participants, followed by an introductory message delivered by Prof. Sanka Gateva, Conference Co-Chair.

Also, you may find the names of the other opening session keynote speakers and the titles of their talks on the Keynote Speakers page.

LPHYS'14.    Keynote Speakers:

The LPHYS'14 Organizing and Steering Committees have announced their decision that this year LPHYS'14 will be dedicated to paying tribute to two major events:

50th anniversary of 1964 Nobel Prize in physics

and

145th anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

The Organizing and Steering Committees are very pleased to announce the following keynote presentatons at the opening session:

  1. The Impact of Dr. Townes' Work in Nonlinear Optics

  2. Lasers: Reminiscing and Speculating

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      Michael Bass


      The Townes Laser Institute, The University of Central Florida College of Optics and Photonics, Orlando, FL, USA
    Abstract:

    The first time I saw a laser was in the spring of . Little did I know that I would spend my career working with these devices and the way in which the light they gave off interacted with matter? I will trace the developments in the field of lasers from the decade of the 1960s to the present, my own small part in nonlinear optics at the beginning, the spectacular role of the diode laser and then speculate as to what the future holds.

LPHYS'14.  Chairpersons:

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    Sanka Gateva


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Pavel P Pashinin


    A M Prokhorov General Physics Institute, RAS, Moscow, Russia

LPHYS'14.  Steering Committee:

LPHYS'14.    Plenary Speakers:

  1. Singular Optics Revisited: Algebraic Operations with Topological Charges of Optical Vortices

    Abstract:

    As an intriguing phenomenon in nature, vortices have become an important topic in many fields of physics. In the optical domain, they are identified as helical phase profiles within a light beam. Such beams carry photon angular momentum, which can be transferred to matter. The angular momentum is proportional to the topological charge (TC) of the optical vortex (OV). Purely linear, the far-field diffraction of an incident OV beam with an arbitrary TC by a fork-shaped grating encoding an OV with another TC is found to transform the TC of the resultant wave. Performed nonlinear experiments show the algebra of the vortex TC cascade that evolves in the process of four-wave mixing of OV beams in Kerr media. Coherent generation of complex singular beams within a spectral bandwidth larger than 200 nm will be described.

  2. Quantum Fluid Properties of Light in Microcavities

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      Elisabeth Giacobino


      Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, Paris, France
    Abstract:

    Quantum coherence in interacting boson systems is at the origin of striking manifestations such as superfluidity. In semiconductor microcavities, a laser excitation can create two-dimensional composite bosons that are superpositions of exciton and photons in the strong coupling regime. Due to nonlinear interactions, quantum optical and quantum fluid effects have been observed.

  3. Quantum Optics and Quantum Communications using Non-Gaussian States of Light

    Abstract:

    During recent years, much progress has been achieved for generating non-Gaussian states of the light, such as Fock states, or optical "Schrödinger's cat" states. Such states can be used for various quantum information protocols, including remote entanglement preparation, or non-deterministic noiseless amplification. Novel stimulating perspectives are opened by the possibility to implement photon-photon interactions, using for instance cold Rydberg atoms in an optical cavity. We will review these recent developments, and discuss open perspectives for quantum information processing and communications.

  4. Development of 10 PW Ultra-High Peak-Power Laser Facility at SIOM

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      Ruxin Li


      Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
    Abstract:

    Generation of ultra-high intensity laser field is one of the most exciting frontiers of laser physics and technology. Worldwide efforts have been devoted to this field in recent years, with the goal of developing 10 PW level peak-power laser pulse of a few tens femtosecond length. We report recent progress towards a 10 PW laser system at SIOM. The design target is 300 J energy in 30 fs long pulse at the central wavelength of 800 nm. The laser intensity at focus will be higher than 1023 W/cm2. The laser system is based on the chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and optical parametric chirped pulse amplification (OPCPA) hybrid architecture. In 2013 we have demonstrated a 2 PW CPA amplifier and a 0.6 PW OPCPA amplifier.

  5. Biophotonics: Challenges, Opportunities and Impact on Global Healthcare

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      Paras N. Prasad


      Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
    Abstract:

    Biophotonics, a rapidly expanding field, integrates lasers, photonics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to create a fundamental understanding of biological processes at molecular level and to provide new approaches for diagnostic and therapy. It utilizes linear and nonlinear optical processes, together with multispectral microspectrometry for ultrasensitive bioimaging and biosensing as well as for light activated therapies such as photodynamic therapy. The talk will define a broadened scope of biophotonics, present its current status, outline the challenges and identify opportunities. Nanobiophotonics utilizing nanoprobes and nanocarriers such as silicon Quantum dots, upconversion nanoparticles and nanoplasmonics semiconductors for bioimaging, sensing and light activated therapy will also be covered. Impact of Biophotonics on current major health care issues will also be highlighted.

  6. New Prospects of Extreme Light Physics with Mega-Science Project XCELS

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      Alexander M. Sergeev


      Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
    Abstract:

    The XCELS laser facility will open up unique opportunities for studying new phenomena at the interface of high-field and high-energy physics. It is planned to provide the ascent to the highest intensity level 1025–1026 W/cm2 by combining 12 laser beams with 15 PW peak power. Under this condition, a new state of matter emerges, a sort of a boiler containing strongly interacting particles, optical field, and gamma radiation with the energy density exceeding that in the Sun center by many orders of magnitude. This is a completely new physical object, and understanding of its properties and application constitutes a compelling task. In this talk, we will discuss a number of fundamental phenomena to be studied with the XCELS, including ultrarelativistic particle dynamics with amazing and counterintuitive features, production of ultradense electron-positron plasma, gamma ray generation with extreme brilliance, and probing space-time structure of vacuum.

  7. Classical Matter Field: From Einstein to Gross-Pitaevskii and Back to Einstein

    Abstract:

    The concept of time-evolving classical matter filed – originally formulated by Einstein in his condensation papers (1924-1925) – remained abandoned for half a century. Staring with a historical overview, I will proceed with demonstrating how the idea of turbulent matter field is central for qualitative and quantitative description of non-perturbative fluctuational behavior of Bose gas in the vicinity of the critical temperature, as well as for understanding the scenario of essentially non-equilibrium kinetics of Bose-Einstein condensation.

LPHYS'14.  Local Organizing Committee:

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    Ekaterina Borisova


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Latchezar Avramov


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Tanja Dreischuh


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Lyubomir Kovachev


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Petya Pavlova


    Faculty of Electronics and Automatics, Technical University Sofia, branch of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
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    Aleksandra Zhelyazkova


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

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    Ivaylo Balchev


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Liliya Angelova


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
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    Tsanislava Genova


    Institute of Electronics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

LPHYS'14.  Advisory & Program Committee:

LPHYS'14.    Scientific Seminars:

  • Seminar 1:   Modern Trends in Laser Physics

    Co-chairs:

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      Olga Kocharovskaya

      Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
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      Kirill A. Prokhorov

      A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

  • Seminar 2:   Strong Field & Attosecond Physics

    Co-chairs:

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      Wilhelm Becker

      Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy, Berlin, Germany
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      Jens Biegert

      Institute of Photonic Sciences, (ICFO), Barcelona, Spain
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      Mikhail V. Fedorov

      A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

  • Seminar 3:   Biophotonics

    Co-chairs:

  • Seminar 4:   Physics of Lasers

    Co-chairs:

  • Seminar 5:   Nonlinear Optics & Spectroscopy

    Co-chairs:

  • Seminar 6:   Physics of Cold Trapped Atoms

    Co-chairs:

  • Seminar 7:   Quantum Information Science

    Co-chairs:

  • Seminar 8:   Fiber Optics

    Co-chairs:

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      Sergey A. Babin

      Institute of Automation and Electrometry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
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      Evgueni M. Dianov

      Fiber Optics Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

  • Symposium:   Extreme Light Technologies, Science, and Applications

    Co-chairs:

LPHYS'14.  Proceedings:

Proceedings of the 23rd annual International Laser Physics Workshop (LPHYS'14, Sofia, July 14-18, 2014) have been published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, vol. 594 (2015). To read all contributed papers please visit http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/594/1.

LPHYS'14.    Deadlines:

Event Deadline Days left
Sending an abstract of your presentation May 15, 2014 -
Sending an entry visa request form, if needed May 15, 2014 -
Accommodation reservation (recommended) May 15, 2014 -
Sending a Manuscript for Workshop proceedings publishing December 15, 2014 -