The aim of this brief is to present, in sufficient detail, a non-perturbative technique for calculating optical hyperpolarizabilities. The ability to efficiently compute hyperpolarizabilities, for a variety of different molecular systems, makes this brief invaluable for those engaged in the computational design of new electro-optical materials. The resulting computation is very predictable and suitable for automation, in contrast to perturbative methods that typically rely on iterative methods. The methodology which is wholly applicable to atoms, molecules, clusters (and with some modifications) to condensed matter, is described and illustrated at a level that is accessible to theoreticians and supplemented with details that should be of interest to practitioners.

With the central importance of electric polarizability and hyperpolarizability for a wide spectrum of activities, this book charts the trends in the accurate theoretical determination of these properties in specialized fields. The contributions include reviews and original papers that extend from methodology to applications in specific areas of primary importance such as cluster science and organic synthesis of molecules with specific properties.

This book is an in-depth review of experiment and theory on electric-dipole polarizabilities. It is broad in scope, encompassing atomic, molecular, and cluster polarizabilities. Both static and dynamic polarizabilities are treated (in the absence of absorption) and a full tensor picture of the polarizability is used. Traditional experimental techniques for measuring electric polarizabilities are described in detail. Recently developed experimental methods, including light forces, position-sensitive time-of-flight deflection, and atom interferometry, are also extensively discussed. Theoretical techniques for calculating polarizabilities are reviewed, including a discussion on the use of Gaussian basis sets. Many important comparisons between theory and experiment are summarized in an extensive set of tables of polarizabilities of important atoms, molecules, and clusters. Applications of polarizabilities to many areas of chemistry and physics are described, including optics, chemical structure, interactions of gases and particles with surfaces, and the interaction of molecules with light. The emphasis is on a lucid presentation of the ideas and results with up-to-date discussions on important applications such as optical tweezers and nanostructure fabrication. This book provides an excellent overview of the importance of polarizabilities in understanding the physical, electronic, and optical properties of particles in a regime that goes from free atoms to condensed-phase clusters.

A lively demonstration of the great vitality and the multidisciplinary character of cluster research and of the usefulness of synthesizing its various aspects was given at this symposium. This volume covers all aspects of the physical and chemical properties of free and supported clusters or small particles: static, dynamical, electronic, magnetic and optical properties, adsorption and chemical phenomena. It thus gives a complete overview of the status of the field and its development.

With the central importance of electric polarizability and hyperpolarizability for a wide spectrum of activities, this book charts the trends in the accurate theoretical determination of these properties in specialized fields. The contributions include reviews and original papers that extend from methodology to applications in specific areas of primary importance such as cluster science and organic synthesis of molecules with specific properties.

For design purposes one needs to relate the structure of proposed materials to their NLO (nonlinear optical) and other properties, which is a situation where theoretical approaches can be very helpful in providing suggestions for candidate systems that subsequently can be synthesized and studied experimentally. This brief describes the quantum-mechanical treatment of the response to one or more external oscillating electric fields for molecular and macroscopic, crystalline systems. To calculate NLO properties of large systems, a linear scaling generalized elongation method for the efficient and accurate calculation is introduced. The reader should be aware that this treatment is particularly feasible for complicated three-dimensional and/or delocalized systems that are intractable when applied to conventional or other linear scaling methods.

Mathematical methods play a significant role in the rapidly growing field of nonlinear optical materials. This volume discusses a number of successful or promising contributions. The overall theme of this volume is twofold: (1) the challenges faced in computing and optimizing nonlinear optical material properties; and (2) the exploitation of these properties in important areas of application. These include the design of optical amplifiers and lasers, as well as novel optical switches. Research topics in this volume include how to exploit the magnetooptic effect, how to work with the nonlinear optical response of materials, how to predict laser-induced breakdown in efficient optical devices, and how to handle electron cloud distortion in femtosecond processes.