Many laboratory and astrophysical plasmas show deviations from local ther- modynamic equilibrium (LTE). This monograph develops non-LTE plasma spectroscopy as a kinetic theory of particles and photons, considering the radiation field as a photon gas whose distribution function (the radiation in- tensity) obeys a kinetic equation (the radiative transfer equation), just as the distribution functions of particles obey kinetic equations. Such a unified ap- proach provides clear insight into the physics of non-LTE plasmas. Chapter 1 treats the principle of detailed balance, of central importance...

Nonlinear photonics is the name given to the use of nonlinear optical devices for the generation, communication, processing, or analysis of information. This book is a progress report on research into practical applications of such devices. At present, modulation, switching, routing, decision-making, and detection in photonic systems are all done with electronics and linear optoelectronic devices. However, this may soon change, as nonlinear optical devices, e.g. picosecond samplers and switches, begin to complement optoelectonic devices. The authors succinctly summarize past accomplishments...

The first guided-wave components that employed signals in the form of light beams traveling along thin films were fabricated a little more than two decades ago. The parallel development of semiconductor lasers and the subsequent availability of low-loss optical fibers made possible the imple- mentation of completely optical systems for communications, signal pro- cessing and other applications that had used only electronic circuitry in the past. Referred to as integrated optics, this technology has been rein- forced by utilizing electronic components that act as controlling elements or...