xviii Preface to the First Edition
physical and chemical systems (Chapter 4). This is a subfield of which the basic
foundations are well understood, but it is still open to numerous experimental
demonstrations and applications. Chapters 5 through 9 review practical aspects
of femtosecond physics, such as sources, amplifiers, pulse shapers, diagnostic
techniques, and measurement techniques.
The last three chapters are examples of application of ultrafast techniques.
In Chapter 10, the frontier between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics
is being probed with fs pulses. New techniques make it possible to “visual-
ize” electrons in Rydberg orbits or the motion of atoms in molecules. The
examples of ultrafast processes in matter are presented in this ...