High intensity and high energy structuring of light at LLNL
Andrew Longman
Staff Scientist
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Presented as part of the X-lites Virtual Seminar Series, leading up to the 2026 Structured-Light Incubator
Abstract: In this talk, I will highlight recent work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the design, freeform fabrication, and implementation of spiral phase optics for high-intensity and high-energy laser systems. I will review a range of experiments enabled by these capabilities, including the generation of inverse-Faraday-driven magnetic fields using linearly polarized beams carrying orbital angular momentum, the first demonstrations of spatiotemporal light springs at relativistic intensities, and a new class of structured light in which individual speckles carry well-defined angular momenta.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Andrew Longman is a Staff Scientist in the National Ignition Facility and Photon Science Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He earned his B.Sc. in Physics (2014) and his Ph.D. in Photonics and Plasmas (2020) from the University of Alberta, after which he joined LLNL as the inaugural High Energy Density Science Fellow. His multidisciplinary research spans optical design and fabrication, laser phase manipulation, optical angular momentum in high power laser systems, laser–plasma interactions, novel plasma diagnostics, high-field physics, and the spatiotemporal shaping of light at ultra-high intensities.
Time: Monday, January 19th 2025 at 12:00PM Eastern
Location: Zoom
- This event is open to the public - Registration is free -
What is the X-lites Network?
The Extreme Light in Intensity, Time, and Space (X-lites) network promotes collaboration around the world to make use of new extreme light facilities.
The network is bringing together facility users and facility operators to support high-impact science and engineering using extreme light.
