Prerequisites: consent of in- structor

Description: The extremely fast relaxation and dephasing of nuclear (vibrational) and electronic excitations in condensed matter are probed by the use of coherent spectroscopy using (sub-picosecond) light pulses. De- cay mechanisms are studied by making spectroscopic measurements at cryogenic temperatures (approxi- mately 1K) and at various high pressures (greater than 100 Kbar). Students who present a seminar 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