Laser Physics [electronic resource] : Proceedings of the Third New Zealand Symposium on Laser Physics held at the University of Waikato Hamilton, New Zealand, January 17–23,1983 / edited by J. D. Harvey, D. F. Walls.

Optical bistability in semiconductors -- Optical bistability with two-level atoms -- Optical bistability and non absorption resonance in atomic sodium -- Polarization switching and optical bistability with resonantly driven J=1/2 to J=1/2 atoms in a ring cavity -- Chaos in nonlinear optical systems -- Spontaneous pulsations in lasers -- Experimental evidence for self-pulsing and chaos in CW-excited lasers -- Second harmonic generation in a resonant cavity -- On the generation of tunable ultrashort light pulses -- Raman spectroscopy with ultrashort coherent excitation. Narrowing of spectral lines beyond the dephasing linewidth -- An autocorrelator for the measurement of CW ultrashort optical pulses having frequency variations -- Multiphoton ionization of atoms -- Pump dynamical effects in superfluorescent quantum initiation and pulse evolution -- Coherent population trapping and the effect of laser phase fluctuations -- An introduction to the physics of laser fusion -- Distribution functions in quantum optics -- Quantum non demolition measurements.