Speaker: Miguel Ibáñez Berganza [INFN (Parma) / Sapienza]

Title: Statistical physics of nonlinear wave interaction

Abstract: The mode-locking transition of Lasers can be understood within a statistical physical framework, in which the electromagnetic modes are considered as spin degrees of freedom subject to a nonlinear interaction. Different resulting collective phases correspond to different laser regimes, and the formation of the mode-locked laser is in correspondence to the emergence of a ferromagnetic phase in the statistical picture. We review the novel and rich phenomenology exhibited by the relevant models in this context, which are O(2) and spherical models with four-body interactions, defined in complex topologies [Antenucci, I.B., Leuzzi, in preparation].