Combined with the other two volumes, this text is a comprehensive treatment of the key experimental methods of atomic, molecular, and optical physics, as well as an excellent experimental handbook for the field. Thewide availability of tunable lasers in the past several years has revolutionized the field and lead to the introduction of many new experimental methods that are covered in these volumes. Traditional methods are also included to ensure that the volumes will be a complete reference source for the field.

Comprises a comprehensive reference source that unifies the entire fields of atomic molecular and optical (AMO) physics, assembling the principal ideas, techniques and results of the field. 92 chapters written by about 120 authors present the principal ideas, techniques and results of the field, together with a guide to the primary research literature (carefully edited to ensure a uniform coverage and style, with extensive cross-references). Along with a summary of key ideas, techniques, and results, many chapters offer diagrams of apparatus, graphs, and tables of data. From atomic spectroscopy to applications in comets, one finds contributions from over 100 authors, all leaders in their respective disciplines. Substantially updated and expanded since the original 1996 edition, it now contains several entirely new chapters covering current areas of great research interest that barely existed in 1996, such as Bose-Einstein condensation, quantum information, and cosmological variations of the fundamental constants. A fully-searchable CD- ROM version of the contents accompanies the handbook.

This is the first volume of textbooks on atomic, molecular and optical physics, aiming at a comprehensive presentation of this highly productive branch of modern physics as an indispensable basis for many areas in physics and chemistry as well as in state of the art bio- and material-sciences. It primarily addresses advanced students (including PhD students), but in a number of selected subject areas the reader is lead up to the frontiers of present research. Thus even the active scientist is addressed. This volume 1 provides the canonical knowledge in atomic physics together with basics of modern spectroscopy. Starting from the fundamentals of quantum physics, the reader is familiarized in well structured chapters step by step with the most important phenomena, models and measuring techniques. The emphasis is always on the experiment and its interpretation, while the necessary theory is introduced from this perspective in a compact and occasionally somewhat heuristic manner, easy to follow even for beginners.

Combined with Volumes 29A and 29B, this volume is a comprehensive treatment of the key experimental methods of atomic, molecular, and optical physics, as well as an excellent experimental handbook for the field. Thewide availability of tunable lasers in the past several years has revolutionized the field and lead to the introduction of many new experimental methods that are covered in these volumes. Traditional methods are also included to ensure that the volumes will be a complete reference source for the field.

This is the second volume of textbooks on atomic, molecular and optical physics, aiming at a comprehensive presentation of this highly productive branch of modern physics as an indispensable basis for many areas in physics and chemistry as well as in state of the art bio- and material-sciences. It primarily addresses advanced students (including PhD students), but in a number of selected subject areas the reader is lead up to the frontiers of present research. Thus even the active scientist is addressed. This volume 2 introduces lasers and quantum optics, while the main focus is on the structure of molecules and their spectroscopy, as well as on collision physics as the continuum counterpart to bound molecular states. The emphasis is always on the experiment and its interpretation, while the necessary theory is introduced from this perspective in a compact and occasionally somewhat heuristic manner, easy to follow even for beginners.

This introduction to Atomic and Molecular Physics explains how our present model of atoms and molecules has been developed during the last two centuries by many experimental discoveries and from the theoretical side by the introduction of quantum physics to the adequate description of micro-particles. It illustrates the wave model of particles by many examples and shows the limits of classical description. The interaction of electromagnetic radiation with atoms and molecules and its potential for spectroscopy is outlined in more detail and in particular lasers as modern spectroscopic tools are discussed more thoroughly. Many examples and problems with solutions should induce the reader to an intense active cooperation.

Volume 54 of the Advances in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Series contains ten contributions, covering a diversity of subject areas in atomic, molecular and optical physics. The article by Regal and Jin reviews the properties of a Fermi degenerate gas of cold potassium atoms in the crossover regime between the Bose-Einstein condensation of molecules and the condensation of fermionic atom pairs. The transition between the two regions can be probed by varying an external magnetic field. Sherson, Julsgaard and Polzik explore the manner in which light and atoms can be entangled, with applications to quantum information processing and communication. They report on the result of recent experiments involving the entanglement of distant objects and quantum memory of light. Recent developments in cold Rydberg atom physics are reviewed in the article by Choi, Kaufmann, Cubel-Liebisch, Reinhard, and Raithel. Fascinating experiments are described in which cold, highly excited atoms ("Rydberg atoms) and cold plasmas are generated. Evidence for a collective excitation of Rydberg matter is also presented. Griffiin and Pindzola offer an account of non-perturbative quantal methods for electron-atom scattering processes. Included in the discussion are the R-matrix with pseudo-states method and the time-dependent close-coupling method. An extensive review of the R-matrix theory of atomic, molecular, and optical processes is given by Burke, Noble, and Burke. They present a systematic development of the R-matrix method and its applications to various processes such as electron-atom scattering, atomic photoionization, electron-molecule scattering, positron-atom scattering, and atomic/molecular multiphoton processes. Electron impact excitation of rare-gas atoms from both their ground and metastable states is discussed in the article by Boffard, Jung, Anderson, and Lin. Excitation cross sections measured by the optical method are reviewed with emphasis on the physical interpretation in terms of electronic structure of the target atoms. Ozier and Moazzen-Ahmadi explore internal rotation of symmetric top molecules. Developments of new experimental methods based on high-resolution torsional, vibrational, and molecular beam spectroscopy allow accurate determination of internal barriers for these symmetric molecules. The subject of attosecond and angstrom science is reviewed by Niikura and Corkum. The underlying physical mechanisms allowing one to generate attosecond radiation pulses are described and the technology needed for the preparation of such pulses is discussed. LeGouët, Bretenaker, and Lorgeré describe how rare earth ions embedded in crystals can be used for processing optically carried broadband radio-frequency signals. Methods for reaching tens of gigahertz instantaneous bandwidth with submegahertz resolution using such devices are analyzed in detail and demonstrated experimentally. Finally, in the article by Illing, Gauthier, and Roy, it is shown that small perturbations applied to optical systems can be used to suppress or control optical chaos, spatio-temporal dynamics, and patterns. Applications of these techniques to communications, laser stabilization, and improving the sensitivity of low-light optical switches are explored. - International experts - Comprehensive articles - New developments

This series, established in 1965, is concerned with recent developments in the general area of atomic, molecular, and optical physics. The field is in a state of rapid growth, as new experimental and theoretical techniques are used on many old and new problems. Topics covered also include related applied areas, such as atmospheric science, astrophysics, surface physics, and laser physics.

A consistent, up-to-date description of the extremely manifold and varied experimental techniques which nowadays enable work with neutral particles. Th book lays the physical foundations of the various experimental techniques, which utilize methods from most fields in physics.