Getting Started on Time-Resolved Molecular Spectroscopy

Abstract

Abstract This textbook details the basic theory of ultrafast molecular spectroscopy starting from time-dependent quantum mechanical perturbation theory in Hilbert space. The emphasis is on the dynamics of nuclear and electronic motion initiated and monitored by femtosecond laser pulses that underlies nonlinear optical signal formation and interpretation. Topics include short-pulse optical absorption, the molecular adiabatic approximation, transient-absorption spectroscopy, vibrational adiabaticity during conformational change, femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy, multi-dimensional electronic spectroscopy and wave-packet interferometry, and two-dimensional wave-packet interferometry of electronic excitation-transfer systems. Numerous exercises embedded in the text explore and expand upon the physical concepts encountered in this important research field.