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There are openings for post-graduate studies in the Optical Sciences Group. Any student who has completed an honours degree in physics, maths or engineering, and who is an Australian or NZ citizen is encouraged to apply. Scientific topics for PhD projects include nonlinear optics, modern information transmission systems, chaotic dynamics, ultra-fast computation and programming in science and engineering. More details can be found on other pages of this website (e.g. Publications). For specific questions and more info, please contact Prof. N. Akhmediev

 

 

1. Dynamical systems in physics, chemistry and biology
2. Localised Formations in dissipative systems, nonliner phenomena
3. Bose-Einstein condensate
4. Solitons in nonliner optics
5. Waveguides and Integrated optics

 

Nonlinear Dynamics by Prof. N. Akhmediev

1. Conservative dynamical systems. Elementary concepts from classical mechanics 2. Nonlinear oscillations. Elliptic Jacobi Functions. 3. Non-conservative dynamical systems. Phase space. Stability. Classification of singular points. 4. Limit cycles. Method of slowly varying amplitude. 5. How to construct a phase portrait? Poincaré section. 6. Noninvertible maps. Logistic map. Tent map. 7. Non-autonomous systems. Forced nonlinear oscillations 8. Systems with two degrees of freedom. Competition of modes 9. PoincarÈ Indices. Bifurcations of singular points. 10. Relaxation oscillations. Van der Pol equation. 11. Nonlinear evolution equations. Integrability. Solitons Literature: 1. G. L. Baker and J. P Gollub, Chaotic Dynamics, an introduction, Cambridge University Press, 1998 2. G. Nicolis, Introduction to nonlinear science. Cambridge University Press, 1995 3. A. Andronov, A. Vitt, C. Khaikin, 1966, Theory of oscillators, Pergamon, Oxford 4. H. D. I. Abarbanel, M. I. Rabinovich, M. M. Sushchik, Introduction to nonlinear dynamics for physicists, World Scientific Lecture notes, V. 53, Singapore 1993. 5. D. K. Arrowsmith, C. M. Place, An Introduction to Dynamical Systems, Cambridge University Press, NY, 1990 6. A. J. Lichtenberg and M. A. Lieberman, Regular and Chaotic Dynamics, Springer-Verlag, NY, 1992. 7. P. Glendinning, Stability, instability and chaos: an introduction to the theory of nonlinear differential equations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994

 

 

Optical Fibre & Waveguide Transmission by Prof. J. Love and Dr. A. Ankiewicz

Lectures: 1: Introductory, historical perspective, optical fibres, planar waveguides, terrestrial fibre systems, submarine fibre systems, telecommunications windows. 2: Basic electromagnetic theory, electric and magnetic field vectors, spatial and temporal dependence, Maxwell's equations, dielectric media, monochromatic sources, refractive index, vector wave equation, plane wave propagation. 3: Ray tracing, Snell's laws, Fresnel's laws, incoherent sources. power flow, step- and graded-index media, light pulses dispersion. 4: V-parameter, guidance and diffraction, electromagnetic normal modes, mode nomenclature, model fields, propagation constants, orthogonality, orthonormality, power flow, propagation, eigenvalue equations. 5: Model cutoff, single-mode fibres, few-mode fibres, multimode fibres, fundamental mode, polarisation, effective index, matched- and finite-cladding fibres, core modes, cladding modes, W- and depressed-cladding fibres. 6: Maxwell's equations, weak-guidance approximation, scalar wave equation, scalar modes, polarisation, modes of weakly-guiding step-profile fibres, numerical methods. 7: Numerical aperture, spot size, mode field diameter, Gaussian approximation, application to step- and graded-profile fibres, material absorption and scattering, model and power attenuation. 8: Phase and group velocities, pulse propagation, material dispersion, waveguide dispersion, intermodal dispersion, dispersion-shifted fibres, dispersion compensation. 9: Optical sources, mode excitation, mode equilibrium, overfill and underfill fields, far field, splice loss, mismatch, offset, tilt, cleaving, mode stripping, index matching. 10: Fibre fabrication, MCVD, VAD, OVD, preforms, drawing, fibre characterisation, refractive-index profile measurement, spectral attenuation, cutoff, spot size, OTDR, dispersion. 11: Bend loss, bend edge, bent single-mode and multimode fibres, spectral dependence, volume current method, microbending, fibre nonuniformities, low-loss criterion, coupled-mode equations. 12: Sources, detectors, splicing, transmission links, dispersion and attenuation-limited systems, repeaters. Lecture 13: Form birefringence, stress birefringence, hi-bi fibres, single-mode single polarisation fibres, D-shaped fibres, local modes, adiabaticity, coupled local-mode equations, tapered fibres. 14: Nonlinear optical materials, photosensitive and photorefractive materials, Kerr effect, nonlinear saturation, second harmonic generation, bright and dark solitons, spatial and temporal solitons. 15: Fabrication of planar waveguides, rib waveguides, buried channel waveguides, direct writing, silica- and polymer-based waveguides, single mode waveguides, splicing, substrate, scattering and bend losses, fibre pigtailing.