An exceptional Symposium to celebrate the 80th Jubilee of Vladilen Letokhov
The International Symposium on Laser Physics and Spectroscopy, held on 11-12 November 2019 at the Institute of Spectroscopy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISAN) in Troitsk near Moscow, was an exceptional event, organised specifically to celebrate the 80th jubilee of Vladilen Letokhov, former vice-director for research of this institute. Vladilen Letokhov (1939-2009) was one of the major researchers in laser physics and applications on cold atoms and in spectroscopy. He significantly contributed to developing scientific cooperation with French, German and American researchers during the last forty years. His most famous works deal with laser cooling of atoms, laser isotope separation, biophysics, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, multiphoton chemistry and more recently with the use of lasers in astrophysics and nuclear physics.
Topics covered during the Symposium included ultrafast science and applications to cancer detection, ultra-wideband radiation using medium-infrared lasers, X-ray spectroscopy, laser filamentation and terahertz radiation, nanoscale semiconductors, thermochemistry, laser photochem-istry and spectral analysis of surface vapors, metastable states and condensates of cold atoms, quantum emitters, biomedical and optoacoustic photonics.
Prof. Ferenc Krausz, Director of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Chair for Experimental Physics Laser Physics at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, who was the 2019 recipient of the first Letokhov Medal for exceptional achievements in laser-matter interaction (jointly presented by the EPS and the Russian Academy of Sciences) attended the meeting. He recalled famous results obtained over the past fifteen years on the production of single-cycle attosecond pulses and their exploitation to characterize optical electric fields via photoelectrons. Together with his colleague Mihaela Zigman, he then discussed new methods of optical sampling for capturing vibrational and electronic signatures of various materials by coherent measurements. First data on the size of cancerous tumors based on these techniques were revealed.
No fewer than 50 participants attended this meeting who could enjoy visiting ISAN’s modern laser facilities, including the laboratory of femtosecond lasers operating in the near and mid-infrared for laser filamentation experiments as well as the laboratory of cold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates. Among them were also participating Prof. Dieter Meschede (University of Bonn, President of the German Physical Society), Prof. Gerd Leuchs (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg), Prof. Michèle Leduc (Ecole Normale Supériore), Prof. Martial Ducloy (Université Paris Nord), Prof. Rudolf Grimm (University of Innsbruck), Prof. Jens Biegert (ICFO, Barcelona) and many others.
Let us here recall that the Institute of Spectroscopy in Troitsk, recognised as an EPS Historic Site in June 2018, undertakes research on atomic and molecular spectra, clusters, nanostructures and metamaterials, on laser spectroscopy, on matter at high temperature and high static pressures, on ultrafast processes and off-equilibrium material, on the development of single-photon devices, quantum metrology and optics. Its most recent activities concern nanophotonics, laser atom cooling, nanofabrication, and ultra-wideband and high-resolution optical spectroscopy, as well as computer-assisted 3D hyperspectral microscopy or extreme ultraviolet sources for nanolithography.
This institute is ranked among the top 5 research institutes in Russia. It employs 200 people, half of whom are researchers (25 state doctors).
