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Summar`,:
THE NATURE OF THE FIELD
The goals of atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO physics)
are to elucidate the fundamental laws of physics, to understand the
structure of matter and how matter evolves at the atomic and molecular
levels, to understand light in all its manifestations, and to create new
techniques and devices. AMO physics provides theoretical and exper-
imental methods and essential data to neighboring areas of science
such as chemistry, astrophysics, condensed-matter physics, plasma
physics, surface science, biology, and medicine. It contributes to the
national security system and to the nation's programs in fusion,
directed energy, and materials research. Lasers and advanced technol-
ogies such as optical processing and laser isotope separation have been
made possible by discoveries in AMO physics, and the research
underlies new industries such as fiber-optics communications and
laser-assisted manufacturing. These developments are expected to help
the nation to maintain its industrial competitiveness and its military
strength in the years to come.
EDUCATIONAL ROLE
AMO physics plays an important role in the education of scientists in
the United States at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
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2 A TOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICA ~ PHYSICS
University-based AMO research prepares students for careers in basic
and applied science in industry, in national laboratories, and in
universities. Approximately 140 Ph.D. degrees are awarded each year
in AMO physics.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL PROGRAMS
AMO physics contributes broadly to the nation's programs in
energy. Experimental and theoretical data from AMO laboratories are
needed for fusion research with magnetic or inertial confinement.
Spectroscopy and laser scattering are important diagnostic techniques
for plasma fusion devices. Inertial-confinement experiments employ
charged-particle devices and high-power lasers whose origins lie in
AMO research. Using methods from modern optics, the chemistry of
combustion can be studied in an engine as it runs, leading to improved
efficiency of aircrafts, ships, and automobiles.
Basic research in AMO physics has revolutionized important areas
of military technology. Atomic clocks and laser gyroscopes are central
to modern navigation and global positioning systems; fiber-optics
communication is widely used in ships, tanks, and planes. Data on
atomic and molecular processes from AMO laboratories are vital to the
understanding of atmospheric and meteorological phenomena that
affect military scenarios. Lasers are used for range finding, guidance,
optical radar, and numerous other applications; high-power lasers are
being employed in new classes of countermeasures and directed energy
weapons systems.
AMO research also contributes broadly to the nation's environmen-
tal program. Atomic and molecular data from AMO laboratories are
crucial to understanding the chemistry of the atmosphere. Remote-
sensing methods employing lasers and laser spectroscopy permit
pollutants to be monitored at long distances. Much of our understand-
ing of the effect of ionizing radiation on biological systems is based on
data and theoretical research from AMO physics.
RECENT ADVANCES IN BASIC ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND
OPTICAL SCIENCE
AMO physics encompasses broad areas of theoretical and experi-
mental research on matter at the atomic and molecular level and on
light. A few of the recent advances in atomic physics include optical
spectroscopy of exotic atoms, new tests of quantum electrodynamics
through ultraprecise measurements on individual trapped electrons and
OCR for page 3
5 UMMAR Y 3
positrons, the production of very slow, highly charged ions, the
prediction and study of spontaneous electron-positron formation in
high nuclear fields, and the first direct measurement of dielectronic
recombination. In molecular physics the advances include the develop-
ment of general techniques for studying molecular ions, the creation
of clusters (small groups of isolated molecules), surface scattering with
supersonic molecular beams, and the discovery of energy localization
in polyatomic molecules. Advances in optics include the first direct
measurement of the frequency of an optical transition, the develop-
ment of ultraprecise optical spectroscopy and ultrasensitive detection
of atoms and molecules, laser cooling of ions and atoms, the coherent
generation of far-ultraviolet light, optical bistability, and the creation of
numerous new types of lasers and nonlinear optical techniques. These
discoveries and numerous theoretical advances, including new ap-
proaches made possible by computers, have combined to make the
past decade of AMO physics a period of substantial scientific progress
and unprecedented productivity.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
The field of AMO physics is moving forward rapidly in wide areas of
research on the structure and dynamics of atoms and molecules, the
control and generation of light, and the fundamental laws of physics.
From among the many activities in AMO physics, the Panel has
identified a series of topics that hold promise for rapid advance and
high scientific reward. These topics form the basis of a Program of
Research Initiatives that is described in detail in the report. The
initiative in atomic physics includes tests of fundamental physical laws,
the development of high-precision techniques, and research on the
many-electron problem and on the dynamics of atomic collisions. In
molecular physics the research is centered on understanding the
motion of electrons and nuclei in molecular fields and the possibility of
controlling the exchange of energy and particles during molecular
collisions. The initiative in optics includes the development of coherent
light sources from the infrared to the x-ray regions, research on new
methods of spectroscopy, and quantum optics.
This program is intended to advance our knowledge of basic AMO
science, assure that the field can continue to provide essential data and
new techniques for the other sciences, and allow AMO physics to
continue its contributions to vital national programs and industry. The
program is needed to provide the research environment that is essential
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4 A-TOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICAL PHYSICS
for the training of professional scientists for careers in industry, in
government laboratories, and in universities.
PRIORITIES OF RESEARCH
AMO physics in the United States advances most often by the efforts
of scientists working in small groups on highly diverse problems. The
research is pursued by over 300 of these groups in universities, in
national laboratories, and in industrial laboratories.
The great strength of AMO physics in the United States is due to the
high quality of many of these groups. After a decade of severe
winnowing, the remaining groups are seriously threatened by under-
funding and the lack of equipment. To assure that the scientific
opportunities in AMO physics can be pursued in the United States, the
first priority must be to assure the continued vitality of the best of these
groups and at the same time to create opportunities for young scientists
to enter the field.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The major recommendations are for primary support for atomic,
molecular, and optical research in the Initiative Areas. Eight of these
areas have been identified. As explained in the report, a 4-year program
is proposed at the end of which a total of approximately 140 groups will
be pursuing new research in the Initiative Areas. This number is not
large considering the breadth of the areas, the variety of scientific
opportunities in each of them, the total size of the field, and the need
for a reasonable number of new scientists to enter the field, perhaps
one a year in each area. At the end of the 4-year period the field should
achieve an equilibrium operating level where new work can be started
as old work is phased out.
The figures are targets to guide the intensity of the overall effort; they
are not meant to fix the exact size of individual grants, the precise
number and size of the research groups, or the timetable for starting
research in each area.
SUPPORT FOR THE RESEARCH INITIATIVES
Additional funds are essential for AMO groups to carry forward
research under the Program of Research Initiatives. The funds are
required to support graduate students, postdoctoral workers, and other
professional scientists; to help restore the seriously decayed infrastruc-
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S UMAlAR Y 5
ture of shops, technicians, and special services; to purchase equipment
at an orderly rate and to maintain it; to support travel and visitors and
to allow enough flexibility for groups to pursue new scientific leads
without the 2- to 3-year delay that is now usually required for starting
new research. To undertake the new research, the base level of support
for basic AMO physics needs to be incremented by $7 million per year
(1984 dollars) each year for the next 4 years.
INSTRUMENTATION FOR THE PROGRAM OF RESEARCH
INITIATIVES
The instrumentation in most AMO laboratories in the United States
is now obsolete, and important scientific opportunities are being lost.
The situation is becoming grave. New instrumentation must be pro-
vided rapidly if the momentum of research is not to be broken.
The increase in base support recommended above is intended to let
the research groups replace instruments at an orderly rate and to
maintain the instruments, but it is not adequate for re-equipping
obsolete laboratories. For this purpose special one-time support is
essential. To equip AMO laboratories for the pursuit of the initiatives,
a special allocation of $11 million (1984 dollars) for instrumentation
should be made available each year for the next 4 years.
THEORY
In contrast to the situation in Europe, Japan, and the Soviet Union,
the theoretical atomic community in the United States is small and
highly dispersed. There is a critical need to focus the efforts in this
country in order to bring the effort up to the level required to guide and
interpret the experimental research. The Panel recommends that the
agencies invite and support proposals addressing this issue, for exam-
ple, by creating centers, workshops, or summer schools where stu-
dents and active theorists could come together for varying periods of
time.
ACCESS TO LARGE COMPUTERS
New approaches made possible by large computers are profoundly
changing AMO physics, but the lack of computational facilities for
theoretical atomic physicists is seriously hindering activity here. On
the basis of a survey of potential users, the Panel recommends that
over a 4-year period computer time equivalent to one full-time Cray 1
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6 ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICAL PHYSICS
be made available to AMO physicists, supported by high-speed re-
mote-access facilities.
SPECIAL FACILITIES
Accelerator-based atomic physics and research with synchrotron
light sources require facilities that are more expensive than those that
have been supported in AMO programs in the past. There are
compelling scientific opportunities in both of these areas.
The Panel recommends that proposals be invited and supported for
the creation of high-charge ion sources and for accelerator upgrades, at
an estimated total cost of $12 million. The Panel recommends that
insertion devices be supported for existing synchrotron light sources
and that substantial access to them be made available to the AMO
community. The Panel endorses the construction of next-generation
light sources, both VUV and x-ray, and recommends that beam lines
be provided for the AMO community.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
atomic physics
