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Stellar interferometry performed in integrated photonic devices allows to increase the angular resolution of a ground-based telescope. Here we present the fabrication and characterization of a low-loss polarization insensitive photonic circuit for astrophotonics, whose geometry was engineered to combine interferometrically up to eight input beams. The employed fabrication technique consisted in the femtosecond laser micromachining followed by a thermal annealing to reduce the birefringence of the waveguides. The fabricated device was characterized to validate its functioning in terms of polarization insensitivity, good transmission and proper beam combination, thus benchmarking its suitability with real on-sky observations.

Astrophotonics is an emerging tool for increasing the angular resolution in ground-based sky observations. Due to the unpolarized nature of celestial light, it is necessary to operate with fully polarization insensitive integrated devices. In this respect, here we show that a thermal annealing after the femtosecond laser writing of waveguides reduces their birefringence of more than order of magnitude, providing integrated circuits whose behaviour is insensitive to the polarization of the input light. As a validation of this technique, we present the successful fabrication of a low-loss integrated device for performing stellar interferometry of up to 8 input beams.

We will show the first results for a pupil remapping device with an integrated optics discrete beam combiner. Our expected monochromatic visibility functions are in good agreement with simulation and experiment. The device will be used for our upcoming on-sky tests at 4-m Willian-Herschel Telescope (WHT) in canary islands.

In this contribution, we review the results of the ALSI project (Advanced Laser-writing for Stellar Interferometry), aimed at assessing the potential of ultrafast laser writing to fabricate mid-infared integrated optics (IO) devices with performance compatible with an implementation in real interferometric instruments like Hi5 or PFI. Waveguides for the L, L' and M bands with moderate propagation losses were manufactured in Gallium Lanthanum Sulfide and ZBLAN glasses and used to develop photonic building blocks as well as a full mid-IR 4-telescope beam combiner. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the tested combiners and discuss a possible roadmap for the continuation of this work., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 1 table

We will review the development in the last decade of discrete beam combiners (DBC), phase sensors based on the propagation of light in photonic lattices. The latest results on the development of DBC for astronomical applications will be presented, along with a new application for the complete tomography of modes at the tip of a multi-mode fiber. The possible use of the DBC in monitoring and controlling modal instabilities in high power lasers will be discussed.

The astronomical J-band (1.25 micrometres) is a relatively untapped wave-band in long-baseline infrared interferometry. It allows access to the photosphere in giant and super-giant stars relatively free from opacities of molecular bands. The J-band can potentially be used for imaging spots in the 1350 nm ionised iron line on slowly rotating magnetically-active stars through spectro-interferometry. In addition, the access to the 1080 nanometres He I line may probe out flows and funnel-flows in T-Tauri stars and allow the study of the star-disk interaction. We present the progress in the development of a six-inputs, J-band interferometric beam combiner based on the discrete beam combiner (DBC) concept. DBCs are periodic arrays of evanescent coupled waveguides which can be used to retrieve simultaneously the complex visibility of every baseline from a multi-aperture interferometer. Existing, planned or future interferometric facilities combine or will combine six or more telescopes at the time, thus increasing the snapshot uv coverage from the interferometric measurements. A better uv coverage will consequently enhance the accuracy of the image reconstruction. DBCs are part of the wider project Integrated astrophotonics that aims to validates photonic technologies for utilisation in astronomy. Before manufacturing the component we performed extensive numerical simulations with a coupled modes model of the DBC to identify the best input configuration and array length. The 41 waveguides were arranged on a zig-zag array that allows a simple optical setup for dispersing the light at the output of the waveguides. The component we are currently developing is manufactured in borosilicate glass using the technique of multi-pass ultrafast laser inscription (ULI), using a mode-locked Yb:KYW laser at the wavelength of 1030 nm, pulse duration of 300 fs and repetition rate of 1 MHz. After annealing, the written components showed a propagation loss less than 0.3 dB/cm and a negligible birefringence at a wavelength of 1310 nm, which makes the components suitable for un-polarized light operation. A single mode fiber-to-component insertion loss of 0.9 dB was measured. Work is currently in progress to characterize the components in spectro-interferometric mode with white light covering the J-band spectrum.

As compared to single-mode fibers (SMFs), photonic lanterns could ease the coupling of starlight to single-mode astrophotonic instruments. Here we investigate numerically the advantage of using lanterns as compared to SMFs for seeing-limited and low-order adaptive telescopes. We find the turbulence strength below which focal-ratio-matched photonic lanterns provide an average flux per output equal to that of a sole SMF. Lastly, we look into the advantage of having a low-order adaptive optics (AO) as a way of relaxing the demand on the lantern size and complexity.

In the era of large telescopes and RV/Transit planetary missions, nulling interferometry remains a competitive technique for the characterization of Earths and Super-earths around Sun analogs in the mid-IR (Leger 2015, ApJ 808, 194). This is a spectral range where a number of bio-signatures can be accessed from space. One challenge of nulling is to benefit from well-established and qualified infrared fibers and integrated optics capable of mitigating the instrumental constraints on the beam combination and wavefront filtering to reach high extinction ratios. Such photonics devices have reached high maturity in the near-IR range as in the case of the integrated optics (IO) beam combiner of GRAVITY at the VLTI, leading to unprecedented interferometric accuracy. Driven by the need of next-generation interferometers, we expand the photonic approach towards longer wavelengths and develop IO combiners based on the ultrafast laser writing technique. We developed single-mode, low-loss evanescent couplers in gallium lanthanum sulfide with a 50/50 splitting behavior around 3.4 µm and characterized the intrinsic chromaticity by FTS. High monochromatic and broadband contrasts are measured with unpolarized light at 3.39µm (>98%), over the L band (>95%), and over the M Band (4.5-4.8µm) (>95%). Our analysis of the interferometric visibilities and phase shows a small differential birefringence in the component and negligible differential dispersion. This results points out the promising properties of mid-infrared laser writing integrated optics devices to serve as high quality beam combiners. The extension to a four-aperture architecture appears plausible, with care to be taken about the impact of the design on the total throughput.

Photonic technology has pushed the limits of astronomy ever more in recent years. Especially, integrated optics (IO) has led to new standards in accuracy and stability in the field of astronomical interferometry where several beams need to be coherently and simultaneously combined. We follow and extend the IO concept by writing mid-IR waveguides in gallium lanthanum sulfide (GLS) using Ultrafast Laser Writing (ULI). Here, we report on the monochromatic and broadband interferometric capabilities in the mid-IR of such combiners. Finally, we outline the way to a fiber-fed IO 4-telescope instrument for next-generation astronomical interferometers.

In the past two decades high precision optical astronomical interferometry has benefited from the use of photonic technologies. Today, near-infrared interferometric instruments deliver high-resolution, hyperspectral images of astronomical objects and combine up to 4 independent telescopes at a time thanks to integrated optics (IO). Following the success of IO interferometry, several initiatives aim at developing components which could combine simultaneously more telescopes and extend their operation beyond the near-infrared bands. Here we report on the development of multi-telescope IO beam combiners for mid-infrared interferometry exploiting the three-dimensional (3D) structuring capabilities of ultrafast laser inscription. We characterise the capability of a 2-telescope and a 4-telescope beam combiner to retrieve the visibility amplitude and phase of monochromatic light fields at a wavelength of 3.39 µm. The combiner prototypes exploit different 3D architectures and are written with a femtosecond laser on substrates of Gallium Lanthanum Sulfide. Supporting numerical simulations of the performance of the beam combiners show that there is still room for improvement and indicate a roadmap for the development of future prototypes.

We present a preliminary experimental chemical-physical characterisation of the structural modification of Gallium Lanthanum Sulfide (GLS) glass occurring during ultrafast laser inscription of waveguides in thermal regime. Our measurements with a micro-Raman spectrograph confirmed previous reports of negligible chemical modification of the irradiated glass. Additionally, the observed onset of significant long-range stress patterns surrounding the irradiated regions indicate that GLS is subject to an irradiation-induced densification of the glass network. We discuss the consequences of these observations for the amelioration of the laser inscription techniques in chalcogenide glasses and, potentially, for the understanding of their microscopic structure.

We present a new concept of an integrated optics component capable of measuring the complex amplitudes of the modes at the tip of a multimode waveguide. The device uses a photonic lantern to split the optical power carried by an $N$-modes waveguide among a collection of single-mode waveguides that excite a periodic array of at least $N^2$ single-mode evanescently-coupled waveguides. The power detected at each output of the array is a linear combination of the products of the modal amplitudes-a relation that can, under suitable conditions, be inverted allowing the derivation of the amplitudes and relative phases of the modal mixture at the input. The expected performance of the device is discussed and its application to the real-time measurement of modal instability in high power fiber lasers is proposed., 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Optics Letters

We review the potential of Astrophotonics, a relatively young field at the interface between photonics and astronomical instrumentation, for spectro-interferometry. We review some fundamental aspects of photonic science that drove the emer- gence of astrophotonics, and highlight the achievements in observational astrophysics. We analyze the prospects for further technological development also considering the potential synergies with other fields of physics (e.g. non-linear optics in condensed matter physics). We also stress the central role of fiber optics in routing and transporting light, delivering complex filters, or interfacing instruments and telescopes, more specifically in the context of a growing usage of adaptive optics., SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation conference, June 2016, 21 pages, 10 Figures

Fringe tracking at longer wavelengths is advantageous for its larger Fried parameter (R 0 ) and longer coherence time (τ 0 ). The fringe trackers which are currently available at the VLTi (Finito, FSU, Gravity, etc.) tracks fringes at the near infrared wavelengths (H and K bands). In our work we try to explore the possibilities to track near and mid- infrared fringes using GLS based laser written integrated optics beam combiners. We simulate the atmospheric optical path difference (OPD) using Kolmogorov/Von-Karman atmospheric turbulence statistics. We also include the measured the piston noise generated due to the instrumental vibrations. Using the resulting OPD time series we can estimate the sensitivity of the fringe tracker at the L band.

Integrated optics (IO) has proven to be a competitive solution for beam combination in the context of astronomical interferometry (e.g. GRAVITY at the VLTI). However, conventional silica-based lithographic IO is limited to wavelengths shorter than 2.2μm. We report in this paper the progress on our attempt to extend the operation of IO to longer wavelengths. Previous work has demonstrated the suitability of chalcogenide devices in the MID-IR in the N band and monochromatically at 3.39 μm. Here, we continue this effort with the manufacturing of new laser written GLS IO as beam combiners designed for the astronomical L band and characterized interferometrically at 3.39 μm. In the era of multi-telescope interferometers, we present a promising solution to strengthen the potential of IO for new wavelength ranges.

In this work we propose a new geometry of discrete beam combiners (DBC) for spectrally-resolved stellar interferometry which overcomes limitations of previous designs. The new beam combiner is based on an array of coupled waveguides arranged in zig-zag pattern. It has been numerically optimized for the combination of 4 telescopes and engineered to operate in the L-band. We manufactured a first sample by direct laser writing in Gallium Lanthanum Sulfide glass, a highly transmissive material in the mid-infrared (550 nm to 10 μm). Initial near-field characterization of the fabricated sample at a wavelength of 3.4 μm are encouraging, but highlighted the necessity of a better control of the polarization dispersion of individual waveguides, as well as induced stresses from manufacturing process.

We conduct an extensive numerical study to single out the best performing rectangular array of evanescently coupled waveguides (discrete beam combiner) that can be used as an integrated optic beam combiner for 6-telescopes at once. We found that the performance of a discrete beam combiner only depends on the conditioning of the Visibility to Pixel Matrix (V2PM) describing it. However, we found that the condition number of V2PM pertaining to different beam combiner architectures cannot be compared. We further report on the possible input waveguide configuration of an 8-telescope discrete beam combiner featuring 8x8 or 9x9 waveguides.

A laser generated proton beam was used to measure the megagauss strength self-generated magnetic fields from a nanosecond laser interaction with an aluminum target. At intensities of 10 15 W cm -2, the significant hot electron production and strong heat fluxes result in non-local transport becoming important to describe the magnetic field dynamics. Two-dimensional implicit Vlasov-Fokker-Planck modeling shows that fast advection of the magnetic field from the focal region occurs via the Nernst effect at significantly higher velocities than the sound speed, v N/c s ≈ 10. © 2011 IOP Publishing Ltd.

We investigate an observed lack of excitation symmetry of discrete diffraction patterns in periodic arrays of waveguides written by ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) in gallium lanthanum sulfide glasses. We found experimentally that successive waveguides written with identical parameters are detuned from the previous one by Δβ ∼ 0.2–0.5 mm−1. We show that by varying the writing speed of successive waveguides, we increase the symmetry of the array and reduce the detuning by a factor of 2. After careful analysis of possible physical causes, observations suggest that the density of the laser irradiated material is affected by long range stresses induced by ULI.

Arrays of evanescently coupled waveguides can be used to retrieve simultaneously the first-order correlation functions in multiple-field interferometry. Here it is shown that this remarkable property of waveguide arrays is enabled only by the existence of nonlocal interaction, i.e., non-nearest-neighbor coupling between the waveguides.

International audience; We experimentally demonstrate controllable nonlinear modulation of optical guiding in ultrafast laser-written evan-escently coupled waveguide arrays in bulk gallium lanthanum sulfide chalcogenide glass. The intensity-dependentresponse is validated by simulating light propagation in waveguide arrays with instantaneous Kerr nonlinearityusing a discrete continuous spatiotemporal unidirectional Maxwell equation model. The intensity-drivenmodulation of transmission in multicore structures acts as a potential saturable absorber at kilowatt thresholdlevels

Nulling interferometry has been identified as a competitive technique for the detection of extrasolar planets. In its basic form, the technique consists of combining out-of-phase a single pair of telescopes to effectively null the light of a bright star and reveal the dim glow of the companion. However, in order to mitigate the effect of the stellar leaks through the interferometer, a broad angular central null is required. The hierarchical combination of several pairs of telescopes can accomplish this task. We have manufactured and tested with monochromatic light an integrated optics component, which combines a linear array of four telescopes in the nulling mode envisaged by Angel and Woolf [Astroph. J.475, 373-379 (1997).10.1086/apj.1997.475.issue-1ASJOAB0004-637X]. By simulating in the laboratory the motion of a star in the sky, we could measure the expected angular transmission of the four-telescope nuller. Moreover, the tests have demonstrated a broad nulling scaling as the fourth power of the baseline delay.

We exploit a slightly noncollinear second-harmonic cross-correlation scheme to map the 3D space-time intensity distribution of an unknown complex-shaped ultrashort optical pulse. We show the capability of the technique to reconstruct both the amplitude and the phase of the field through the coherence of the nonlinear interaction down to a resolution of 10 $\mu$m in space and 200 fs in time. This implies that the concept of second-harmonic holography can be employed down to the sub-ps time scale, and used to discuss the features of the technique in terms of the reconstructed fields., Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures

Astronomical interferometry is a unique technique that allows observation with angular resolutions on the milliarcsec scale by combining the light of several apertures hundreds of meters apart. The PIONIER and GRAVITY instruments at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer have demonstrated that silica-based integrated optics (IO) provide a small-scale and highly stable solution for the interferometric beam combination process. Yet, important science cases such as exoplanet hunting or the spectroscopic characterization of exoplanetary atmospheres are favorable for observation in the mid-IR, namely the atmospheric windows L and L' band (3-4 µm), a wavelength range that is not covered by conventional silica-based IO. Here, we propose laser-inscribed IO 2×2 couplers in ZBLAN and experimentally assess the critical properties of the component for broadband mid-IR interferometry. We measure the splitting ratio over the 2.5 to 5.0 µm range and find excellent broadband contrast over the L (3.1-3.6 µm) and L' (3.6 - 4.0 µm) bands. Furthermore, we quantify the dispersion properties of the coupler and find a phase variation as low as 0.02 rad across the L and L' band, respectively. By optimizing the NA of our injection beam, we measured a very high total throughput of 58% over the L band including Fresnel reflection and coupling losses. We also compare our findings to recent advances in mid-IR IO in GLS and discuss its advantages and disadvantages for the implementation in future mid-IR interferometers.

Context: Optical long baseline interferometry is a unique way to study astronomical objects at milli-arcsecond resolutions not attainable with current single-dish telescopes. Yet, the significance of its scientfic return strongly depends on a dense coverage of the uv-plane and a highly stable transfer function of the interferometric instrument. In the last few years, integrated optics (IO) beam combiners have facilitated the emergence of 4-telescope interferometers such as PIONIER or GRAVITY, boosting the imaging capabilities of the VLTI. However, the spectral range beyond 2.2 mm is not ideally covered by the conventional silica based IO. Here, we consider new laser-written IO prototypes made of gallium lanthanum sulfide (GLS) glass, a material that permits access to the mid-infrared spectral regime. Aims: Our goal is to conduct a full characterization of our mid-IR IO two-telescope coupler in order to measure the performance levels directly relevant for long-baseline interferometry. We focus in particular on the exploitation of the L and M astronomical bands. Methods: We use a dedicated Michelson-interferometer setup to perform Fourier transform spectroscopy on the coupler and measure its broadband interferometric performance. We also analyze the polarization properties of the coupler, the differential dispersion and phase degradation, as well as the modal behavior and the total throughput. Results: We measure broadband interferometric contrasts of 94.9% and 92.1% for unpolarized light in the L and M bands. Spectrally integrated splitting ratios are close to 50%, but show chromatic dependence over the considered bandwidths. Additionally, the phase variation due to the combiner is measured and does not exceed 0.04 rad and 0.07 rad across the L and M band, respectively. The total throughput of the coupler including Fresnel and injection losses from free-space is 25.4%. Furthermore, differential birefringence is low (

In recent years, new coronagraphic schemes have been proposed, the most promising being the optical vortex phase mask coronagraphs. In our work, a new scheme of broadband optical scalar vortex coronagraph is proposed and characterized experimentally in the laboratory. Our setup employs a pair of computer generated phase gratings (one of them containing a singularity) to control the chromatic dispersion of phase plates and achieves a constant peak-to-peak attenuation below 1:1000 over a bandwidth of 120 nm centered at 700 nm. An inner working angle of $\lambda$/D is demonstrated along with a raw contrast of 11.5\,magnitudes at 2$\lambda$/D. A more compact setup achieves a peak-to-peak attenuation below 1:1000 over a bandwidth of 60 nm with the other results remaining the same., Comment: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instumentation Conference 2014, Paper 9151-214, 7 pages, 5 figures

We report the experimental studies on megaGauss magnetic field generation using a 35 femtosecond laser at relativistic intensities. The polarization change of the self-generated harmonics was recorded to estimate the magnetic field. A parameter scan was performed by varying the input laser intensity as well as the contrast ratio. External optical probing diagnostics were performed using the second harmonic of the incident laser. Additionally, the optical transition radiation from the rear of the target was also recorded.

Broadband coronagraphy with deep nulling and small inner working angle has the potential of delivering images and spectra of exoplanets and other faint objects. In recent years, many coronagraphic schemes have been proposed, the most promising being the optical vortex phase mask coronagraphs. In this paper, a new scheme of broadband optical scalar vortex coronagraph is proposed and characterized experimentally in the laboratory. Our setup employs a pair of computer generated phase gratings (one of them containing a singularity) to control the chromatic dispersion of phase plates and achieves a constant peak-to-peak attenuation below $1\cdot 10^{-3}$ over a bandwidth of 120 nm centered at 700 nm. An inner working angle of ~\lambda/D is demonstrated along with a raw contrast of 11.5 magnitudes at 2\lambda/D., Comment: Accepted, 6 pages, 6 images

(abridged) A complete census of planetary systems around a volume-limited sample of solar-type stars (FGK dwarfs) in the Solar neighborhood with uniform sensitivity down to Earth-mass planets within their Habitable Zones out to several AUs would be a major milestone in extrasolar planets astrophysics. This fundamental goal can be achieved with a mission concept such as NEAT - the Nearby Earth Astrometric Telescope. NEAT is designed to carry out space-borne extremely-high-precision astrometric measurements sufficient to detect dynamical effects due to orbiting planets of mass even lower than Earth's around the nearest stars. Such a survey mission would provide the actual planetary masses and the full orbital geometry for all the components of the detected planetary systems down to the Earth-mass limit. The NEAT performance limits can be achieved by carrying out differential astrometry between the targets and a set of suitable reference stars in the field. The NEAT instrument design consists of an off-axis parabola single-mirror telescope, a detector with a large field of view made of small movable CCDs located around a fixed central CCD, and an interferometric calibration system originating from metrology fibers located at the primary mirror. The proposed mission architecture relies on the use of two satellites operating at L2 for 5 years, flying in formation and offering a capability of more than 20,000 reconfigurations (alternative option uses deployable boom). The NEAT primary science program will encompass an astrometric survey of our 200 closest F-, G- and K-type stellar neighbors, with an average of 50 visits. The remaining time might be allocated to improve the characterization of the architecture of selected planetary systems around nearby targets of specific interest (low-mass stars, young stars, etc.) discovered by Gaia, ground-based high-precision radial-velocity surveys., Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy. The full member list of the NEAT proposal and the news about the project are available at http://neat.obs.ujf-grenoble.fr. The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.com

We investigate the effects of the space-time coupling (STC) on the nonlinear formation and propagation of Light Bullets, spatiotemporal solitons in which dispersion and diffraction along all dimensions are balanced by nonlinearity, through periodic media with a weak transverse modulation of the refractive index, i.e. waveguide arrays. The STC arises from wavelength dependence of the strength of inter-waveguide coupling and can be tuned by variation of the array geometry. We show experimentally and numerically that the STC breaks the spectral symmetry of Light Bullets to a considerable degree and modifies their group velocity, leading to superluminal propagation when the Light Bullets decay.

Astrophotonics offers a solution to some of the problems of building instruments for the next generation of telescopes through the use of photonic devices to miniaturise and simplify instruments. It has already proved its worth in interferometry over the last decade and is now being applied to nightsky background suppression. Astrophotonics offers a radically different approach to highly-multiplexed spectroscopy to the benefit of galaxy surveys such as are required to determine the evolution of the cosmic equation of state. The Astrophotonica Europa partnership funded by the EU via OPTICON is undertaking a wide-ranging survey of the technological opportunities and their applicability to high-priority astrophysical goals of the next generation of observatories. Here we summarise some of the conclusions.

MAMMUT (Mirror vibrAtion Metrolology systeM for the Unit Telescope) is an ESO funded feasibility project for the development of a fiber interferometer prototype designed for optical path laser-metrology along the optical train of the Unit Telescopes (UT) of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Fast mechanical vibrations originating in the VLTI cause fast variations of the optical path difference between two arms of the stellar interferometer, thus reducing the contrast of measured interference fringes. MAMMUT aims at monitoring in real time the optical path variations inside the Coude train of the UT, for active control purposes. MAMMUT features a 250-meter-long optical fiber which can be used to deliver and inject a laser beam at 1353 nm into the UT. The injected beam can be dropped from the telescope in the Coude room and interfered with a phase reference, provided by the second 250-meter-long arm of the fiber interferometer. The optical path variations are measured by means of an active homodyne scheme. Coherence between the beam at the injection point and the phase reference is provided by active fiber stabilization, made possible by the implementation of an internal metrology channel in MAMMUT. Here we present the initial laboratory performance results of the MAMMUT prototype, which will be able to sense optical path variations of +/- 5 μm with sub-10 nm precision within a bandwidth of at least 100 Hz.

Digital phase front retrieval from inline, Gabor-type holograms has to overcome the challenge of separating the object wave from its conjugate by retrieving the phase of the optical field. Recently, the so-called 'twin image problem' has received revived interest, mainly in conjunction with lens-less digital holography applications in the XUV or X-ray bands. In this context, we propose to use a recently devised algorithm, the iterative shadowgraphy method (ISM), to solve the twin-image problem and use the retrieved phase front for digital holography applications. The algorithm is based on the principle that the measurement of phase gradients, which drive the diffraction process, enable the retrieval of the transverse phase profile of a field by observing its intensity distribution on different propagation planes. We have proven rigorously that for small phase modulated object waves, the algorithm converges to the correct object wavefront using just two snapshots of the propagated intensity field as input. Because the algorithm is akin to a deconvolution algorithm, experimental noise can destabilize the iteration scheme. In this work, we discuss the influence of noise in the ISM and apply a wavelet-based scheme to regularize the data. We show that the phase retrieved from two experimental, defocused pictures of a weakly absorbing, scattering object can be used to accurately reconstruct the object trough numerical back-propagation. Thus we prove that ISM is suitable for digital holography applications. We compare the ISM to various other schemes, such as direct backpropagation and the Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm and find that the ISM scheme gives a much improved reconstruction of the phase front.

Phase retrieval from Gabor-type holograms is typically hindered by the twin-image problem, i.e. the problem of separating the phase front from its conjugate [1]. Quantitative shadowgraphy [2,3] is among the methods available for an approximate solution of this problem. Shadowgraphy retrieves the phase map of a propagating wavefront from two snapshots of its transverse intensity profile. However, the method is usually limited by diffraction blurring [2], as it is based on the geometrical optics approximation. Here we present an iterative shadowgraphic method (ISM) which can remove diffraction blurring from shadowgraphically retrieved phase maps [4]. The algorithm calculates iteratively wavefront corrections by solving the Poisson equation with a source term obtained from a reference shadowgram and an artificial shadowgram calculated from the approximated phase map obtained at the previous iteration. Under this aspect, the method merges features from the Gerchberg-Saxton [5] algorithm with those of shadowgraphy.

We present a fiber sensor based on an active integrated component which could be effectively used to measure the longitudinal vibration modes of telescope mirrors in an interferometric array. We demonstrate the possibility to measure vibrations with frequencies up to $\simeq 100$ Hz with a precision better than 10 nm., 7 pages, 6 figures

We present the results from low current X-pinch machine capable to produce the current around 50 kA with a rise time of 50 ns. The X-pinches were made from two 5-10 mum diameter wires. The emission of EUV radiation at 13.5 nm starts from less than 10 ns time corresponding to the current flow in the wires and lasts about 100 ns. Details of dynamics of the pinch were obtained from laser shadowgraphic and time integrated images, showing formation and evolution of low density coronal plasma. The emission of EUV becomes twice in amplitude at the time of pinching within few nanoseconds rise-time. The multiple peaked structure observed in time resolved EUV and x-rays signals show the pinching and the formation of hotspots between 40 - 70 ns after the start of the current, depending on the diameter of the wires. The dynamics of the low current X-pinch in the radial as well as in the axial direction were simulated using the 2D MHD code.

We present a quantitative shadowgraphic method that can measure the density of a laser-generated plasma in air. Simultaneous comparison of both shadowgraphy and interferometry has been carried out, allowing the experimental evaluation of the reliability of the shadowgraphic method. Even though limited by absorption in the sample, shadowgraphy performs better in terms of sensitivity.

By means of a quantitative shadowgraphic method, we performed a space-time characterization of the refractive index variation and transient absorption induced by a light-plasma filament generated by a 100 fs laser pulse in water. The formation and evolution of the plasma channel in the proximity of the nonlinear focus were observed with a 23 fs time resolution., Comment: 3 pages, 3 pictures

We present measurements of a magnetic reconnection in a plasma created by two laser beams (1 ns pulse duration, 1 x 10(15) W cm(-2)) focused in close proximity on a planar solid target. Simultaneous optical probing and proton grid deflectometry reveal two high velocity, collimated outflowing jets and 0.7-1.3 MG magnetic fields at the focal spot edges. Thomson scattering measurements from the reconnection layer are consistent with high electron temperatures in this region.

Summary form only given. In plasma physics, shadowgraphy has always been considered as an important but a qualitative diagnostic. For optically thin plasmas quantitative data can also be extracted from shadowgrams. However, in contrast to other fields of physics, quantitative shadowgraphy can rarely be found in plasma physics. Density profiles are usually retrieved by means of interferometric techniques, which can give accurate results over a wide range of plasma densities. However, they are not suitable for real-time diagnostics as the processing of the interferogram requires phase unwrapping algorithms which often demand manual intervention. The aim of our investigation is to show that quantitative shadowgraphy can be a simpler alternative to interferometric methods for two dimensional, automated, real-time characterization of low density plasmas generated by intense laser pulses in gases. We verified the accuracy of the shadowgraphic method by retrieving density profiles of several test objects (optical fibers, gas jets, plasma filaments in air) and comparing the results with interferograms. Agreement has been found for samples satisfying the Rayleigh-Gans condition. An algorithm has been developed for the retrieval of the optical path using a multigrid solver that processes in real-time a 256times256 pixel frame in about 1 second on an AMD Turion 64-bit processor. According to our numerical simulations, the technique will be able to monitor in green light plasma samples up to a thickness of 100 micrometers with an electron density of up to 1018 cm -3

Three-dimensional reconstruction of light wave-packets with complex spatio-temporal profiles is obtained by means of a second order cross-correlation scheme with a transverse and temporal resolution of few tens of microns and of femtoseconds respectively.

We report the first experimental observation of terahertz (THz) radiation from the rear surface of a solid target while interacting with an intense laser pulse. Experimental and two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that the observed THz radiation is mostly emitted at large angles to the target normal. Numerical results point out that a large part of the emission originates from a micron-scale plasma sheath at the rear surface of the target, which is also responsible for the ion acceleration. This opens a perspective for the application of THz radiation detection for on-site diagnostics of particle acceleration in laser-produced plasmas.

By means of a time-resolved, shadowgraphic method we observed directly the development of the pulse-splitting dynamics of a femtosecond laser pulse propagating in the filamentary regime in water. For the first time to our knowledge, the relative splitting velocity was measured. We compare the experimental data with numerical simulations. A possible scenario for the splitting event and evolution of the fragments is discussed.

We study experimentally and numerically the spatiotemporal evolution of short pulses in quadratic nonlinear waveguide arrays with coupled second-harmonic modes, revealing complex spectral transformations involving generation of new frequency components at the Brillouin zone edge.