Molecular Excitation Dynamics And Relaxation

This work brings together quantum theory and spectroscopy to convey excitation processes to advanced students and specialists wishing to conduct research and understand the entire fi eld rather than just single aspects. Written by experienced authors and recognized authorities in the field, this text covers numerous applications and offers examples taken from different disciplines. As a result, spectroscopists, molecular physicists, physical chemists, and biophysicists will all fi nd this a must-have for their research. Also suitable as supplementary reading in graduate level courses.

Relaxation phenomena of excited molecular states are abundant in all nature. They mediate such key processes as photochemical reactions or even the pathways of ordinary chemical reactions. However, for a long time the main research in electronic relaxation processes was concerned with anorganic solids, in part because of their great technological importance (photography, semiconductors ... ) in part also because these compounds were the "workhorses" of the solid state physicists. In the last 30 years, there was a steadily increasing interest in organic molecular systems, first in molecular crystals and later in all forms of molecular solids (glasses, polymers, membranes, ... ). The present volume combines papers on quite different types of relaxation phenomena: the type of solid studied, the electronic states involved, the physical processes responsible for the relaxations are all different. Nevertheless, after reading this book, a more clear and complete picture of the phenomenon "relaxa tion" emerges that proves that this volume is more than just a collection of individual articles. The volume starts with the paper "Spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation in photo-excited triplet states in molecular crystals" by Jan Schmidt. Even in these seemingly simple systems of isolated guest molecules in a single crystal host, the relaxation phenomena are quite involved and a very thorough investigation is necessary to find the key relaxation processes. The end of the article provides a bridge to the following paper: it treats interactions of two molecules (dimers), where resonant interactions become important and lead to new, characteristic relaxation processes.

This 3rd edition has been expanded and updated to account for recent developments, while new illustrative examples as well as an enlarged reference list have also been added. It naturally retains the successful concept of its predecessors in presenting a unified perspective on molecular charge and energy transfer processes, thus bridging the regimes of coherent and dissipative dynamics, and establishing a connection between classic rate theories and modern treatments of ultrafast phenomena. Among the new topics are: - Time-dependent density functional theory - Heterogeneous electron transfer, e.g. between molecules and metal or semiconductor surfaces - Current flows through a single molecule. While serving as an introduction for graduate students and researchers, this is equally must-have reading for theoreticians and experimentalists, as well as an aid to interpreting experimental data and accessing the original literature.

Primary events in natural systems or devices occur on extremely short time scales, and yet determine in many cases the final performance or output. For this reason research in ultrafast science is of primary importance and impact in both fundamental research as well as its applications. This book reviews the advances in the field, addressing timely and open questions such as the role of quantum coherence in biology, the role of excess energy in electron injection at photovoltaic interfaces or the dynamics in quantum confined structures (e.g. multi carrier generation). The approach is that of a monograph, with a broad tutorial introduction and an overview of the recent results. This volume includes selected lectures presented at Symposium on Ultrafast Dynamics of the 7th International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies. Contents:Femtosecond Real-Time Vibrational Spectroscopy Using Ultrafast Laser Pulses (Takayoshi Kobayashi and Juan Du)Multidimensional Optical Spectroscopy Using a Pump-Probe Configuration: Some Implementation Details (Zhengyang Zhang and Howe-Siang Tan)High-Sensitivity Ultrafast Transient Absorption Spectroscopy of Organic Photovoltaic Devices (Alex J Barker, Kai Chen, Shyamal Prasad and Justin M Hodgkiss)Transient Absorption Data Analysis by Soft-Modelling (I A Howard, H Mangold, F Etzold, D Gehrig and F Laquai)Infrared Ultrafast Optical Probes of Photoexcitations in Π-Conjugated Polymers/Fullerene Blends for Photovoltaic Applications (C-X Sheng, U Huynh and Z V Vardeny)Ultrafast Optical Probing of Carrier Motion in Conjugated Polymers and Blends for Solar Cells (Vidmantas Gulbinas, Andrius Devizis, Domantas Peckus and Dirk Hertel)Singlet Fission in Organic Crystals (Lin Ma, Christian Kloc, Cesare Soci, Maria E Michel-Beyerle and Gagik G Gurzadyan)Mapping Carrier Diffusion in Single Silicon Core-Shell Nanowires with Ultrafast Optical Microscopy (Minah Seo, Jinkyoung Yoo, Shadi Dayeh, Julio Martinez, Brian Swartzentruber, Samuel Picraux, Antoinette Taylor and Rohit Prasankumar)Exciton Dynamics and Its Regulation Ability in Photosynthesis (V Balevicius, Jr, L Valkunas and D Abramavicius)Ultrafast Intramolecular Dynamics in Novel Star-Shaped Molecules for Photovoltaic Applications (Oleg V Kozlov, Yuriy N Luponosov, Sergei A Ponomarenko, Dmitry Yu Paraschuk, Nina Kausch-Busies and Maxim S Pshenichnikov)Nonlinear Spectroscopy of Interfaces and Its Application to Organic Electronics (Silvia G Motti, Francisco C B Maia and Paulo B Miranda)Photoinduced Charge Transfer Dynamics at HybridGaAs/P3HT Interfaces (Jun Yin, Manoj Kumar, Majid Panahandeh-Fard, Zilong Wang, Francesco Scotognella and Cesare Soci)The First Step in Vision: Visualizing Wavepacket Motion through a Conical Intersection (Dario Polli, Daniele Brida, Cristian Manzoni, Giulio Cerullo, Piero Altoe', Marco Garavelli, Oliver Weingart, Katelyn Spillane, Philipp Kukura and Richard A Mathies)Ultrafast Investigation of Energy and Charge Transfer in a Prototypical Photovoltaic Blend (Guglielmo Lanzani, Ajay Ram Srimath Kandada and Daniele Fazzi)Vacancy-Doped Plasmonic Copper Chalcogenide Nanocrystals with Tunable Optical Properties (Ilka Kriegel, Jessica Rodríguez-Fernández, Chengyang Jiang, Richard Schaller, Enrico Da Como, Dmitri V Talapin, Jochen Feldmann) Readership: Academics and professionals in the fields of physics, chemistry and material science. Keywords:Nanostructure;Interface;Semiconductor;Nanoelectronics;Optics;SurfaceReviews: “This book provides an excellent introduction to the basics of ultrafast dynamics, describes advanced experimental methods and important applications to biological, charge transfer, low-dimensional systems and others. It is highly recommended to researchers and graduate students in the field of ultrafast laser spectroscopy.” Prof. Alan Heeger Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, 2000

This landmark collective work introduces the physical, chemical, and biological principles underlying photosynthesis: light absorption, excitation energy transfer, and charge separation. It begins with an introduction to properties of various pigments, and the pigment proteins in plant, algae, and bacterial systems. It addresses the underlying physics of light harvesting and key spectroscopic methods, including data analysis. It discusses assembly of the natural system, its energy transfer properties, and regulatory mechanisms. It also addresses light-harvesting in artificial systems and the impact of photosynthesis on our environment. The chapter authors are amongst the field’s world recognized experts. Chapters are divided into five main parts, the first focused on pigments, their properties and biosynthesis, and the second section looking at photosynthetic proteins, including light harvesting in higher plants, algae, cyanobacteria, and green bacteria. The third part turns to energy transfer and electron transport, discussing modeling approaches, quantum aspects, photoinduced electron transfer, and redox potential modulation, followed by a section on experimental spectroscopy in light harvesting research. The concluding final section includes chapters on artificial photosynthesis, with topics such as use of cyanobacteria and algae for sustainable energy production. Robert Croce is Head of the Biophysics Group and full professor in biophysics of photosynthesis/energy at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Rienk van Grondelle is full professor at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. Herbert van Amerongen is full professor of biophysics in the Department of Agrotechnology and Food Sciences at Wageningen University, where he is also director of the MicroSpectroscopy Research Facility. Ivo van Stokkum is associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Sciences, at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

Quantum phenomena are ubiquitous in complex molecular systems - as revealed by many experimental observations based upon ultrafast spectroscopic techniques - and yet remain a challenge for theoretical analysis. The present volume, based on a May 2005 workshop, examines and reviews the state-of-the-art in the development of new theoretical and computational methods to interpret the observed phenomena. Emphasis is on complex molecular processes involving surfaces, clusters, solute-solvent systems, materials, and biological systems. The research summarized in this book shows that much can be done to explain phenomena in systems excited by light or through atomic interactions. It demonstrates how to tackle the multidimensional dynamics arising from the atomic structure of a complex system, and addresses phenomena in condensed phases as well as phenomena at surfaces. The chapters on new methodological developments cover both phenomena in isolated systems, and phenomena which involve the statistical effects of an environment, such as fluctuations and dissipation. The methodology part explores new rigorous ways to formulate mixed quantum-classical dynamics in many dimensions, along with new ways to solve a many-atom Schroedinger equation, or the Liouville-von Neumann equation for the density operator, using trajectories and ideas related to hydrodynamics. Part I treats applications to complex molecular systems, and Part II covers new theoretical and computational methods

There are only few discoveries and new technologies in physical sciences that have the potential to dramatically alter and revolutionize our electronic world. Topological insulators are one of them. The present book for the first time provides a full overview and in-depth knowledge about this hot topic in materials science and condensed matter physics. Techniques such as angle-resolved photoemission spectrometry (ARPES), advanced solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) or scanning-tunnel microscopy (STM) together with key principles of topological insulators such as spin-locked electronic states, the Dirac point, quantum Hall effects and Majorana fermions are illuminated in individual chapters and are described in a clear and logical form. Written by an international team of experts, many of them directly involved in the very first discovery of topological insulators, the book provides the readers with the knowledge they need to understand the electronic behavior of these unique materials. Being more than a reference work, this book is essential for newcomers and advanced researchers working in the field of topological insulators.