Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, May 5-10, 1991

Atoms in Intense Laser Fields.- Search for the "Direct" Channel in the Multiphoton Double Ionization of Magnesium with Femtosecond Pulses.- Inhibition of Atomic Ionization in Strong Laser Fields.- A Hydrogen Atom in an Intense, High Frequency, Short Pulse Laser.- Application of the Finite Element Method to the 3-D Hydrogen Atom in an Intense Laser Field.- Optical Analogs of Model Atoms in Fields.- Molecules in Intense Laser Fields.- Above-Threshold Photodissociation and Bond Softening at High Intensities.- An Artificial Channel Procedure for Multiphoton Absorption Lineshape and Branching Ratios in Intense Laser Fields. Application to H2+ Photodissociation.- Intense field Dynamics of Diatomic Molecules.- Calculation of Potential Curves for H2+ Molecules in a Strong Laser Field.- Intense Field Photoionization of H2.- Excitation of Molecular Hydrogen in Intense Laser Fields.- High Intensity Molecular Multiphoton Ionization.- Competition between Multiple Ionization and Dissociation of Small Molecules.- Charge-Symmetric Fragmentation of Diatomic Molecules in Intense Picosecond Laser Pulses.- Intermediate States in Multiphoton Fragmentation of Small Molecules.- Intense CO2 Laser Ionization of D2O Vapour.- Excitation of Molecules and Solids with Intense Subpicosecond Ultraviolet Radiation.- Atomic Coherences.- Coherence in Strong Field Harmonic Generation.- Chirp-Controlled Interference in Two-Photon Processes.- Phase Effects in Two-Color Multiphoton Processes.- Cooperative Atomic Effects in Two-Photon Processes.- Coherent Deflection of Atoms by Adiabatic Passage in Multilevel Systems.- Interfering Optical Interactions: Phase Sensitive Absorption.- Coherent Interactions within the Atomic Continuum.- The Roles of Dipole Correlation Function and Dipole Expectation Value inLight Scattering Spectra.- Molecular Coherences.- Femtosecond Pulse Shaping and Excitation of Molecular Coherences.- Coherence in the Control of Molecular Processes.- Coherent Phase Control of the Resonance Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization of HCl and CO.- Optimal Control of Molecular Motion.- Control of Molecular Vibrational Excitation and Dissociation by Chirped Intense Infrared Laser Pulses.- Time Dependent Quantum Calculations on the Femtosecond Pump-Probe Ionization Spectroscopy of Molecular Sodium.- Analytic Models of Pulse Effects in Two-Photon Molecular Spectroscopy.- Molecular Excitations Created by an Arbitrary Shaped Laser Pulse: An Adiabatic Wave Packet Propagation Study.- Femtosecond Photon Echo Formation in Liquids.- Designing Coherent Acoustic Waves by Optimal Control Theory.- Author Index.

This volume contains the lectures and communications presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (NATO ARW 900857) which was held May 5-10, 1991 at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A scientific commitee made up of P.P. Lambropoulos (USC & Crete), P.8. Corkum (NRC, Ottawa), and H. B. vL. van den Heuvell (FOM, Amsterdam) guided the organizers, A.D. Bandrauk (Sherbrooke) and S.C. Wallace (Toronto) in preparing a programme which would cover the latest advances in the field of atom and molecule laser interactions. Since the last meeting held in July 1987 on "Atomic and Molecular Processes with Short Intense Laser Pulses", NATO ASI vol 1718 (Plenum Press 1988), considerable progress has been made in understanding high intensity effects on atoms and the concomitant coherence effects. After four years, the emphasis is now shifting more to molecules. The present volume represents therefore this trend with four sections covering the main interests of research endeavours in this area: i) Atoms in Intense Laser-Fields ii) Molecules in Intense Laser Fields iii) Atomic Coherences iv) Molecular Coherences The experience developed over the years in multiphoton atomic processes has been very useful and is the main source of our understanding of similar processes in molecules. Thus ATI (above threshold ionization) has been found to occur in molecules as well as a new phenomenon, ATD (above-threshold dissociation). Laser-induced avoided crossings of molecular electronic surfaces is also now entering the current language of high intensity molecular processes.