Dynamical Processes In Atomic And Molecular Physics

Atomic and molecular physics underlie a basis for our knowledge of fundamental processes in nature and technology and in such applications as solid state physics, chemistry and biology. In recent years, atomic and molecular physics has undergone a revolutionary change due to great achievements in computing and experimental techniques. As a result, it has become possible to obtain information both on atomic and molecular characteristics and on dynamics of atomic and molecular processes. This e-book highlights the present state of investigations in the field of atomic and molecular physics. Recent theoretical developments as well as new discoveries and observations are discussed. the Book should be of interest to students studying atomic and molecular physics and specialists in related fields of science and technology.

Scattering theory is of interest to physicists and to chemists and has a wide variety of applications, but it also presents a considerable challenge to mathematicians, including numerical analysts. Within the Schrödinger picture in this volume are collected the various theoretical and mathematical treatments of scattering together with a host of reviews of its applications to atomic and nuclear physics, to surface physics and chemistry, for example trapping of atoms on surfaces, and to amorphous condensed systems. The reviews give a concise and pedagogically useful presentation of the state of the art, and may serve as introductions for newcomers, in particular for graduate students.

Scattering theory is of interest to physicists and to chemists and has a wide variety of applications, but it also presents a considerable challenge to mathematicians, including numerical analysts. Within the Schrödinger picture in this volume are collected the various theoretical and mathematical treatments of scattering together with a host of reviews of its applications to atomic and nuclear physics, to surface physics and chemistry, for example trapping of atoms on surfaces, and to amorphous condensed systems. The reviews give a concise and pedagogically useful presentation of the state of the art, and may serve as introductions for newcomers, in particular for graduate students.

This volume contains the lectures presented at the NATO Advanced study Institute "Fundamental Processes of Atomic Dynamics" held in Maratea. Italy from September 20th to October 2nd 1987. The institute and this volume were conceived as a natural complement to previous institutes held in Maratea (1982) and in Santa Flavia (1984. ) whose proceedings are to be found in NATO ASI Series B vol. 103 and 134 respectively. The subject matter of these institutes was the study of the funda mental processes occurring in the interactions of atoms with photons. electrons and heavy-ions. The aim has been to unify these processes in a coherent experimen tal and theoretical approach. The present volume brings this approach up to date and contains in addition. for contrast and variety. a description of similar dynamical processes in the study of clusters and surfaces. The institute was opened with a lecture by Joe Macek in which he summarised the current status of atomic collision research. propounded the philosophy of a unified approach to structure, fragmentation and collision and posed the outstanding questions in the field. This lecture forms the introduction to this volume. The subject matter was divided into experiment and theory with the lectures inter-linked so that the one could re-inforce the other. The whole of the theoretical part of the institute was organised by Ugo Fano as an on-going symposium.

This is the first comprehensive treatment of the interactions of atoms and molecules with charged particles, photons and laser fields. Addressing the subject from a unified viewpoint, the volume reflects our present understanding of many-particle dynamics in rearrangement and fragmentation reactions.

In Dynamical Processes in Molecular Physics, leading European lecturers outline the fundamental aspects of dynamical processes in molecular physics. The papers included in this book make a valuable contribution to the teaching of molecular physics as well as discussing advances in this area. It covers a wide range of interesting and relevant topics, both experimental and theoretical. Physicists and physical chemists at graduate and research level will find this an invaluable reference.

Advances in the Theory of Atomic and Molecular Systems, is a collection of contributions presenting recent theoretical and computational developments that provide new insights into the structure, properties, and behavior of a variety of atomic and molecular systems. This volume (subtitled “Dynamics, Spectroscopy, Clusters, and Nanostructures”) deals with the topics of “Quantum Dynamics and Spectroscopy”, “Complexes and Clusters”, and “Nanostructures and Complex Systems”. This volume is an invaluable resource for faculty, graduate students, and researchers interested in theoretical and computational chemistry and physics, physical chemistry and chemical physics, molecular spectroscopy, and related areas of science and engineering.

The central subject of this thesis is the theoretical description of ultrafast dynamical processes in molecular systems of chemical interest and their control by laser pulses. This work encompasses different cutting-edge methods in quantum chemistry, quantum dynamics and for the rigorous description of the interaction of light and matter at the molecular level. It provides a general quantum mechanical framework for the description of chemical processes guided by laser pulses, in particular near conical intersections, i.e. geometries where the nuclear and electronic motions couple and the molecule undergoes non-adiabatic (or non-Born-Oppenheimer) dynamics. In close collaboration with experimentalists, the author succeeds in making a decisive step to link and to apply quantum physics to chemistry by transferring state of the art techniques and concepts developed in physics to chemistry, such as “light dressed atoms and molecules” and “adiabatic Floquet theory”. He applies these techniques in three prototypic model systems (aniline, pyrazine and NHD2) using high-level electronic structure calculations. Readers will enjoy the comprehensive and accessible introduction to the topic and methodology, as well as the clear structure of the thesis.