Flatsonar

Lightwave Explorer

by Nick Karpowicz

Easily simulate nonlinear optics

Broad permissions Verified creator MIT v2026.1
Install Source code
Screenshot 1 of Lightwave Explorer Screenshot 2 of Lightwave Explorer

About

Lightwave explorer is an open source nonlinear optics simulator, intended to be fast, visual, and flexible for students and researchers to play with ultrashort laser pulses and nonlinear optics without having to buy a laser first. Supports both CUDA and CPU calculations. Its purpose and goals are:

  • Easily-extensible database of materials
  • Multiple physical models, including the unidirectional nonlinear wave equation and finite-difference time-domain approaches.
  • Efficient code so that complicated systems can be simulated in 3D: Real laser pulses can be messy, and if they weren't so before a nonlinear crystal, there's a good chance they are after. Multidimensional simulations open up the weird world of spatiotemporal couplings. You have options for very fast simulations when there's a symmetry to use (e.g. cylindrical), alongside fully 3D propagation
  • A graphical interface that lets you see what you're doing
  • A flexible sequence mode to string together elements: not just nonlinear crystals, also spherical or parabolic mirrors, apertures, filters, free space propagation and more
  • Fitting/optimization routines
  • A Python module for easy postprocessing

Permissions

1 permission weaken the sandbox. Flatsonar asks before installing.

  • X11 display: X11 lets apps read input and windows of other apps
    --socket=x11
  • inter-process communication (needed for X11)
    --share=ipc
  • Wayland display
    --socket=wayland
  • X11 display, only when Wayland is unavailable
    --socket=fallback-x11
  • GPU acceleration
    --device=dri
  • access to xdg-config/kdeglobals
    --filesystem=xdg-config/kdeglobals:ro
  • talks to com.canonical.AppMenu.Registrar
    --talk-name=com.canonical.AppMenu.Registrar
  • talks to org.kde.kconfig.notify
    --talk-name=org.kde.kconfig.notify
  • talks to org.kde.KGlobalSettings
    --talk-name=org.kde.KGlobalSettings

Who publishes this

The creator demonstrably controls this app id: Flathub verification, the hosting account owns the namespace, or a well-known file on their domain.

  • installs a prebuilt binary instead of building from source
    source:prebuilt
  • verified on Flathub: the developer proved they control this app id
    publisher:flathub

Maintenance

Recent activity on the upstream repository, or built and reviewed by Flathub.

No staleness signals: recent activity, or built and reviewed by Flathub.