Low Temperatures And Cold Molecules

by Ian W M Smith

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781848162099
Publisher:	Imperial College Press
Publication date:	10/03/2008
Pages:	580
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Preface v

1 The Chemistry of Cold Interstellar Cloud Cores Eric Herbst Tom J. Millar 1

2 Gas Phase Reactive Collisions at Very Low Temperature: Recent Experimental Advances and Perspectives Andre Canosa Fabien Goulay Ian R. Sims Bertrand R. Rowe 55

3 The Study of Cold Collisions Using Ion Guides and Traps D. Gerlich 121

4 Theory of Low Temperature Gas-Phase Reactions Stephen J. Klippenstein Yuri Georgievskii 175

5 Molecular Spectroscopy at Low Temperatures: A High Resolution Infrared Retrospective Scott Davis Feng Dong David J. Nesbitt 231

6 The Production and Study of Ultra-Cold Molecular Ions D. Gerlich 295

7 Chemical Dynamics Inside Superfluid Helium Nanodroplets at 0.37 K Alkwin Slenczka J. Peter Toennies 345

8 Kinematic Cooling of Molecules Kevin E. Strecker David W. Chandler 393

9 Manipulation of Molecules with Electric Fields Sebastiaan Y.T. van de Meerakker Hendrick L. Bethlem Gerard Meijer 433

10 Cold Collisions, Quantum Degenerate Gases, Photoassociation, and Cold Molecules John Weiner 481

Index 561