"Coherent Control of Four-Wave Mixing" discusses the frequency, temporal and spatial domain interplays of four-wave mixing (FWM) processes induced by atomic coherence in multi-level atomic systems. It covers topics in five major areas: the ultrafast FWM polarization beats due to interactions between multi-color laser beams and multi-level media; coexisting Raman-Rayleigh-Brillouin-enhanced polarization beats due to color-locking noisy field correlations; FWM processes with different kinds of dual-dressed schemes in ultra-thin, micrometer and long atomic cells; temporal and spatial interference between FWM and six-wave mixing (SWM) signals in multi-level electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) media; spatial displacements and splitting of the probe and generated FWM beams, as well as the observations of gap soliton trains, vortex solitons, and stable multicomponent vector solitons in the FWM signals. The book is intended for scientists, researchers, advanced undergraduate and graduate students in Nonlinear Optics. Dr. Yanpeng Zhang is a professor and Zhiqiang Nie is a Ph. D. student at the Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China. Dr. Min Xiao is a professor of physics at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, U.S.A.

Multi-wave mixing gives rise to new frequency components due to the interaction of light signals with a suitable nonlinear medium. In this book a systematic framework for the control of these processes is used to lead readers through a plethora of related effects and techniques.

In view of the rapid growth in both experimental and theoretical studies of multi-photon processes and multi-photon spectroscopy of atoms, ions and molecules in chemistry, physics, biology, materials science, etc., it is desirable to publish an advanced series of volumes containing review papers that can be read not only by active researchers in these areas, but also by those who are not experts but who intend to enter the field. The present series aims to serve this purpose. Each review article is written in a self-contained manner by the expert(s) in the area, so that the reader can grasp the knowledge without too much preparation.

In view of the rapid growth in both experimental and theoretical studies of multi-photon processes and multi-photon spectroscopy of atoms, ions and molecules in chemistry, physics, biology, materials science, etc., it is desirable to publish an advanced series of volumes containing review papers that can be read not only by active researchers in these areas, but also by those who are not experts but who intend to enter the field. The present series aims to serve this purpose. Each review article is written in a self-contained manner by the expert(s) in the area, so that the reader can grasp the knowledge without too much preparation.

This smooth introduction for advanced undergraduates starts with the fundamentals of lasers and pulsed optics. Thus prepared, the student is introduced to short and ultrashort laser pulses, and learns how to generate, manipulate, and measure them. Spectroscopic implications are also discussed. The second edition has been completely revised and includes two new chapters on some of the most promising and fast-developing applications in ultrafast phenomena: coherent control and attosecond pulses.