Prerequisites: consent of instruc- tor

Description: The extremely fast relaxation and dephasing of nuclear (vibrational) and electronic excitations in con- densed matter are probed by the use of coherent spectroscopy using (sub-picosecond) light pulses. Decay mechanisms are studied by making spectro- scopic measurements at cryogenic temperatures (approximately 1K) and at various high pressures (greater than 100 Kbar). Students who present a sem- inar or submit a term paper receive a letter grade; other students receive a Satisfactory (S) or No Credit (NC) grade. May be repeated for credit. Chronister