This fractal pattern is actually a guide to shaping laser pulses.

Each pixel in this image represents one possible laser pulse shape (the arrival time of the frequencies in a broadband laser pulse). The pixel’s color indicates how good that particular pulse shape should be at controlling a particular nonlinear optical process in a material it hits, with red being the best and blue being the worst. By making simulations that produce images like these, we can look for patterns that tell us what kinds of pulse shapes are generally the best.

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