Related papers: Advanced Optics with Laser Pointer and Metersticks
We put forward a concrete experimental setup allowing to measure light-by-light scattering in the collision of two optical high-intensity laser beams at state-of-the-art high-field facilities operating petawatt class laser systems. Our…
Astigmatic Defocus Sensor is a very simple and easy technique for measuring the amount of defocus (deviation from the focal plane) present in an optical beam. The approach uses a cylindrical lens to focus the beam and the measure of the…
We introduce a laser heterodyne polarimeter designed for the precision measurement of sub $\mu\mathrm{rad}$ differential phase shifts due to birefringence. The polarimeter will be used in an initial testbed for a potential future vacuum…
We describe an experiment, located in south-east Colorado, USA, that measured aerosol optical depth profiles using two Lidar techniques. Two independent detectors measured scattered light from a vertical UV laser beam. One detector, located…
Phase is a fundamental resource for optical imaging but cannot be directly observed with intensity measurements. The existing methods to quantify a phase distribution rely on complex devices and structures. Here we experimentally…
Radially self-accelerating light exhibits an intensity pattern that describes a spiraling trajectory around the optical axis as the beam propagates. In this article, we show in simulation and experiment how such beams can be used to perform…
We report on the experimental realization of an atom optical device, that allows scanning of an atomic beam. We used a time-modulated evanescent wave field above a glass surface to diffract a continuous beam of metastable Neon atoms at…
We describe a flasher system designed for use in monitoring the gains of the photomultiplier tubes used in the VERITAS gamma-ray telescopes. This system uses blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) so it can be operated at much higher rates than…
In-line polarimeters perform non-destructive polarization measurements of optical signals, and play a critical role in monitoring and controlling the polarization environment in for example optical networks. While current in-line…
We experimentally observe the dipole scattering of a nanoparticle using a high numerical aperture (NA) imaging system. The optically levitated nanoparticle provides an environment free of particle-substrate interaction. We illuminate the…
Several km-scale gravitational-wave detectors have been constructed world wide. These instruments combine a number of advanced technologies to push the limits of precision length measurement. The core devices are laser interferometers of a…
As a calibrated laser pulse propagates through the atmosphere, the amount of Rayleigh-scattered light arriving at the VERITAS telescopes can be calculated precisely. This technique was originally developed for the absolute calibration of…
We present an experimental study of the spectra produced by optical/radio-frequency double resonance in which resonant linearly polarized laser light is used in the optical pumping and detection processes. We show that the experimental…
A spectrograph is an optical instrument that disperses photons of different energies into distinct directions and space locations, and images photon spectra on a position-sensitive detector. Spectrographs consist of collimating, angular…
Interferometry is a powerful technique for making sensitive, high-fidelity images of the sky, but is limited in its ability to measure extended or diffuse emission. Better images of extended astronomical objects can be obtained by…
Remote focusing of light in a graded-index medium via mode interference is demonstrated using exact analytical solutions of the wave equation. Strong focusing of light occurs at extremely long distances and it revivals periodically with…
The polarization and orbital angular momentum properties of light are of great importance in optical science and technology in the fields of high precision optical measurements and high capacity and high speed optical communications. Here…
We present an educational tool, a microscope with a video camera, that can be fabricated either from a standard microscope or assembled from inexpensive, commercially available components (objectives, beam splitters, LEDs, linear stages)…
Taking advantage of the advances in array detector technology, an imaging polarimeter (IMPOL) has been constructed for measuring linear polarization in the wavelength band from 400-800 nm. It makes use of a Wollaston prism as the analyser…
We are developing instrumentation for a telescope design capable of measuring linear X-ray polarization over a broad-band using conventional spectroscopic optics. Multilayer-coated mirrors are key to this approach, being used as Bragg…