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Physics and Mathematics

Objective
This program seeks breakthrough fundamental science in physics supporting the Air Force’s advanced technology requirements.  Recent investments have focused on 4 areas:  Optical Sciences, Plasma Physics, Atomic and Nuclear Sciences, and Geophysics.  Emphasis is on advancing laser sources and materials as well as particle physics.

Optical Sciences

  • Laser and Optical Physics - Seeking novel processing techniques for high quality ceramic laser materials with control over spatial distributions of dopants and index of refraction, and processing methods for achieving low loss laser ceramics with non-isotropic, and therefore necessarily aligned, grains. Aligned grain ceramic materials are also of interest as large size, high average power nonlinear optical materials using quasi-phasematching techniques. New ideas for high average power fiber lasers are of interest, including new materials, and large mode area structures, novel ways of mitigating nonlinear issues, and studies of coupling multiple fiber lasers which can withstand very high average power. Novel compact, particularly tunable or wavelength flexible, potentially inexpensive, infrared lasers are of interest.
  • Ultrashort Pulse Laser-Matter Interactions  - This program seeks innovative science concepts in the areas of attosecond science, femtosecond optical frequency combs and high-field laser physics:
    • Attosecond science: Seeking new concepts for improved attosecond sources (e.g. increased efficiency, higher flux, shorter pulses, and higher photon energy), development of pump-probe methods that investigate interactions with systems ranging from isolated atoms / molecules to condensed matter, attosecond pulse propagation, novel concepts for attosecond experiments and fundamental interpretations of attosecond measurements.
    • Optical frequency combs: Thrust areas include dispersion management techniques to increase the spectral coverage to exceed an octave while maintaining high powers per comb, new concepts to extend frequency combs from the extreme ultraviolet into the mid-wave and long-wave infrared spectral regimes, development of novel resonator designs (e.g. micro-resonator based) and ultra-broadband pulse shaping.
    • High-field laser physics: Seeking techniques for ultrafast- laser processing (e.g. machining, patterning), mechanisms to control dynamics of femtosecond laser propagation in transparent media (e.g. filamentation), concepts for monochromatic, tunable laser-based sources of secondary photons and particle beams, laser-based compact particle accelerators and concepts for high peak power laser architectures and technology that efficiently scale up to high repetition rates and/or new wavelengths of operation.

Plasma and Electro-Energetic Physics
The objective of this program is to understand and control the interaction of electromagnetic energy and charged particles to produce useful work in a variety of arenas, including sensors and radar, communications, novel compact accelerators, compact pulsed power, particle-field interaction physics, power-efficient methods to generate and maintain significant free-electron densities in ambient air, plasma chemistry at high pressure, and the physics of strongly coupled plasmas. Innovative science that combines plasma and electro-energetic physics with the high-energy density associated with nuclear forces (e.g. nuclear batteries where radiation produces currents in semiconductors and propulsion plasmas sustained via fusion) will be considered.

Solicitation
BAA-AFRL-AFOSR-2015-0001

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Program Reviews & Meetings

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Contact Information
Lt Col Kris Ahlers
Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development (AOARD)
7-23-17 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan 106-0032

AOARD.Physics@us.af.mil