New computer technique for nonlinear optical problems

The propagation of high-intensity or high-power laser pulses presents a variety of nonlinear optical problems requiring selfconsistent study. Our method treats arbitrary three-dimensional problems with unlimited phase distortion and is similar to the particle-in-cell (PIC) methods of hydrodynamics and electromagnetic plasma simulation. Our numerical algorithm is based on Maxwell's equations and is applied to laser-fusion reactor and laser amplifier problems. (U.S.)