This is a timely book because high-power laser infrastructures displaying impressive parameters are presently built in several different locations around the world.
Anyone working in the emerging field of high-power laser interaction with matter should read this book. It’s divided in three parts: The first part introduces basic concepts such as high-intensity lasers and the classical and quantum theory of laser-atom interactions. The second part is dedicated to theoretical methods applied in the atom–laser interaction, including perturbation theory, numerical integration methods for wave equations, ionization and stability of atoms in intense fields. The third part is focused on multiphoton atom physics—an area that encompasses multiphoton ionization, attosecond physics and electron-atom collisions.
Although the authors focus on the theory of atom–intense laser field interactions, they also present many relevant experiments to support theoretical developments. This is an essential tool for readers who want to investigate the physical phenomena resulting from the interactions between intense lasers fields and atoms.
Review by Daniela Dragoman, University of Bucharest, Romania.
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or OSA.