Abstracts Physics

Quantum optics and Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy : a dissertation in two parts

by Jeffrey Jonathan Perkins

Ph.D. University of Hawaii at Manoa 2010. In this dissertation, we solve for the form of the multiple pump mode spontaneous downconversion spectrum, by expanding the pump field in a superposition of Seigman's Complex Gauss-Hermite modes. We also examine the use of Diffraction Gratings as quantum state 'cleaners,' in that they may be used to distill a specific quantum state from a corresponding superposition of undesirable states. Work was also done in Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy; we use the technique to determine the hydration state of hydrated sulfates in a Martian environment, and examine the effect of the bremmstrahlung background on the predictive ability of the technique.