Low Temperature Molecular Spectroscopy

Molecular spectroscopy has achieved rapid and significant progress in recent years, the low temperature techniques in particular having proved very useful for the study of reactive species, phase transitions, molecular clusters and crystals, superconductors and semiconductors, biochemical systems, astrophysical problems, etc. The widening range of applications has been accompanied by significant improvements in experimental methods, and low temperature molecular spectroscopy has been revealed as the best technique, in many cases, to establish the connection between experiment and theoretical calculations. This, in turn, has led to a rapidly increasing ability to predict molecular spectroscopic properties. The combination of an advanced tutorial standpoint with an emphasis on recent advances and new perspectives in both experimental and theoretical molecular spectroscopy contained in this book offers the reader insight into a wide range of techniques, particular emphasis being given to supersonic jet and matrix isolation techniques, spectroscopy in cryogenic solutions (including liquid noble gases), and in both crystalline and amorphous states. Suitable quantum chemical methods are also considered, as are empirically based force field methods for calculating spectra of large molecular systems. The wide range of topics covered includes: molecular dynamics and reactivity, time-resolved and high-resolution spectroscopy, conformational analysis, hydrogen bonding and solvent effects, structure and dynamics of weakly bound complexes, transition metal and organic photochemistry, spectroscopy of excited states, ab initio prediction of molecular spectra, and biochemical and astrophysical applications.

This book brings together, for the first time, the results of recent research in areas ranging from the chemistry of cold interstellar clouds (10-20 K), through laboratory studies of the spectroscopy and kinetics of ions, radicals and molecules, to studies of molecules in liquid helium droplets, to attempts to create molecular (as distinct from atomic) Bose-Einstein condensates.

This is a comprehensive textbook designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Both authors rely on more than 20 years of teaching experience in renowned Physics Engineering courses to write this book addressing the students’ needs. Kinetics and Spectroscopy of Low Temperature Plasmas derives in a full self-consistent way the electron kinetic theory used to describe low temperature plasmas created in the laboratory with an electrical discharge, and presents the main optical spectroscopic diagnostics used to characterize such plasmas. The chapters with the theoretical contents make use of a deductive approach in which the electron kinetic theory applied to plasmas with basis on the electron Boltzmann equation is derived from the basic concepts of Statistical and Plasma Physics. On the other hand, the main optical spectroscopy diagnostics used to characterize experimentally such plasmas are presented and justified from the point of view of the Atomic and Molecular Physics. Low temperature plasmas (LTP) are partially ionized gases with a broad use in many technological applications such as microelectronics, light sources, lasers, biology and medicine. LTPs lead to the production of atomic and molecular excited states, chemically reactive radicals, and activated surface sites, which are in the origin, among others, of the deposition of thin films, advanced nanotechnology products, solar cells, highly efficient combustion motors, and treatment of cancer cells.

New, unexpected and largely unexplored physical phenomena occur in systems cooled to very low temperatures. The background temperature in the universe is approximately 2.7 K, but much lower temperatures have now been obtained in the laboratory. This book reviews the progress in a number of related fields in which the common themes are low temperatures and molecules, not atoms. This book brings together, for the first time, the results of recent research in areas ranging from the chemistry of cold interstellar clouds (10-20 K), through laboratory studies of the spectroscopy and kinetics of ions, radicals and molecules, to studies of molecules in liquid helium droplets, to attempts to create molecular (as distinct from atomic) Bose-Einstein condensates. The chapters fall into two parts, the first one dealing with low-temperature experiments and environments (ca. 1–20 K). In the context of this book, these chapters can be said to deal with relatively mature fields. The second part deals with very low temperatures and very cold molecules. Here, more emphasis is placed on the methods employed to generate samples of molecules at extremely low (<1 K) temperatures. Contents:The Chemistry of Cold Interstellar Cloud Cores (E Herbst & T J Millar)Gas-Phase Reactive Collisions at Very Low Temperature: Recent Experimental Advances and Perspectives (A Canosa et al.)The Study of Cold Collisions Using Ion Guides and Traps (D Gerlich)Theory of Low Temperature Gas-Phase Reactions (S J Klippenstein & Y Georgievskii)Molecular Spectroscopy at Low Temperatures: A High-Resolution Infrared Perspective (S Davis et al.)The Production and Study of Ultra-Cold Molecular Ions (D Gerlich)Chemical Dynamics Inside Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets at 0.37 K (A Slenczka & J P Toennies)Kinematic Cooling of Molecules (K E Strecker & D W Chandler)Manipulation of Molecules with Electric Fields (S Y T van de Meerakker et al.)Cold Collisions, Quantum Degenerate Gases, Photoassociation, and Cold Molecules (J Weiner) Readership: Physical chemistry researchers in universities and national laboratories, graduates in physics and chemistry. Keywords:Low Temperatures;Cold Molecules;Chemical Reactions;Extreme Conditions;New Experimental Techniques;AstrochemistryKey Features:Is the first book to deal with these topics, which are at the cutting edge of research in areas lying between chemistry, physics and molecular astrophysics Consists of contributions from world leaders in their respective research fields

Tunneling reactions in chemistry are characterized by the low-temperature limit when the classical contribution is negligible. Many practical applications benefit from the lack of heat and have a deep physical basis. Interesting advantages of chemical synthesis at low temperatures have also been demonstrated. This book covers fundamental and practical aspects of the processes and experimental and theoretical methods used in the field. The chapters are written by leading scientists who have very strong experience in the selected topics, and many practical recommendations can be found in this book.

Frontiers and Advances in Molecular Spectroscopy once again brings together the most eminent scientists from around the world to describe their work at the cutting-edge of molecular spectroscopy. Much of what we know about atoms, molecules and the nature of matter has been obtained using spectroscopy over the last one hundred years or so. Going far beyond the topics discussed in Jaan Laane’s earlier book on the subject, these chapters describe new methodologies and applications, instrumental developments and theory, which are taking spectroscopy into still new frontiers. The robust range of topics once again demonstrates the wide utility of spectroscopic techniques. New topics include ultrafast spectroscopy of the transition state, SERS/far-uv spectroscopy, femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and biosensors, vibrational optical activity, ultrafast two-dimensional spectroscopy, biology with x-ray lasers, isomerization dynamics and hydrogen bonding, single molecule imaging, spectra of intermediates, matrix isolation spectroscopy and more. Covers spectroscopic investigations on the cutting edge of science Written and edited by leading experts in their respective fields Allows researchers to access a broad range of essential modern spectroscopy content from a single source rather than wading through hundreds of scattered journal articles