Investigation of Generation and Propagation of Intense Radiation.

The described research provided fundamental theoretical support of the high-energy laser program, particularly with regard to concepts germane to that program several years hence. The work has centered in four major areas: propagation of intense radiation, laser theory, amplifier theory and molecular physics (particularly of the water molecule). This report summarizes the work completed under the contract and provides references to more detailed accounts of that work published elsewhere. Included are abstracts of papers published (or to be published) elsewhere. Among the highlights of the collected final report are a strikingly successful, yet simple, model of the H2O molecule; a very promising scheme for a soft X-ray laser; further advances in the multimode unstable resonator theory; and justification of the rate equation approach to treating lasers with cascade transitions.