CRC Press Laser Spectroscopy of Highly Vibrationally Excited Molecules

Laser spectroscopy has been perfected over the last fifteen years to become a precise tool for the investigation of highly vibrationally excited molecules. Intense infrared laser radiation permits both the multiple-photon resonant excitation and the dissociation of polyatomic molecules. In this book, the latest results of some of the foremost Soviet researchers are published for the first time in the West. Laser Spectroscopy of Highly Vibrationally Excited Molecules contains a comprehensive study of both the experimental and theoretical aspects of the basic photophysical interactions that occur in these processes. The book first focuses on the nonlinear interaction between the resonant vibrational mode and the intense infrared field and then examines the nonlinear interaction between the vibrational modes themselves due to anharmonicity. These interrelated processes determine all the characteristics of polyatomic molecules in an infrared field. The book also discusses related phenomena such as spectra broadening, optical resonance, photon echoes, and dynamical chaos. It includes examples of multiple-photon resonant excitation such as the excitation of OsO4 by CO^O2 laser radiation, which is detected by the visible luminescence that results. This book will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students in infrared laser spectroscopy and the laser chemistry of molecules and applications of isotope separation. Review "…a useful book which will be of value to specialist researchers in the field. Its clarity of presentation makes it accessible to a wider audience."--Journal of Modern Optics "Letokhov and his colleagues have given an excellent account of the infrared multiple photon method of studying highly vibrationally excited states."--Optical Quantum Electronics "Readers will find this book provides a broad overview of the techniques and applications of laser spectroscopy for sensing. The well-written background, containing basic theory of laser spectroscopy sensing, provides the reader with the essentials for understating the remainder of the book. The inclusion of many spectroscopic techniques gives the reader a broad understanding of various spectroscopic methods available and describes each method's advantages and limitations. This is very useful knowledge for the researcher who needs to use optical sensing methods in their work. Laser scientists and engineers as well as those using laser sensing methods for environmental, medical, military, and material processing applications will also find this book very informative based on the technical details and broad number of laser spectroscopy methods covered."--IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine, November/December 2014 About the Author Letokhov, Vladilen Stepanovich