Basics of interaction of laser radiation with matter

This book is composed of 22 lectures given at the Moscow Physical Technical Institute, and its main purpose is to give a simple account of the main physical phenomena arising in the process of the interaction of laser radiation with matter. It is divided in three chapters going from the microscopic to the macroscopic interactions: laser radiation interactions with atoms and molecules (102 refs.), with transparent matter (gas, liquid and solid, 77 refs.), and with non-transparent matter (solid and plasma, 25 refs.). (A.B.)