Proceedings of SPIE present the original research papers presented at SPIE conferences and other high-quality conferences in the broad-ranging fields of optics and photonics. These books provide prompt access to the latest innovations in research and technology in their respective fields. Proceedings of SPIE are among the most cited references in patent literature.

Atomic and molecular spectroscopy has provided basic information leading to the development of quantum mechanics and to the understanding of the building blocks of matter. It continues to provide further insight into the statics and dynamics of the microcosmos, and provides the ·means for test ing new concepts and computational methods. The results of atomic and molecular spectroscopy are of great importance in astrophysics, plasma and laser physics. The rapidly growing field of spectroscopic applications has made considerable impact on many disciplines, including medicine, envi ronmental protection, chemical processing and energy research. In particu lar, the techniques of electron and laser spectroscopy, the subjects of the 1981 Nobel prize in physics, have contributed much to the analytical poten tial of spectroscopy. This textbook on Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy has been pre pared to provide an overview of modern spectroscopic methods. It is in tended to serve as a text for a course on the subject for final-year under graduate physics students or graduate students. It should also be useful for students of astrophysics and chemistry. The text has evolved from courses on atomic and molecular spectroscopy given by the author since 1975 at Chalmers University of Technology and at the Lund Institute of Technol ogy. References are given to important books and review articles which of different aspects of atomic and molecular allow more detailed studies spectroscopy. No attempt has been made to cover all important references, nor have priority aspects been systematically considered.

With contributions by numerous experts

Digest contains the materials on the research and applications of pulsed lasers. Abstracts are interesting for researches and engineers in the field of quantum electronics, spectroscopy, plasma physics, medicine, remote sensing and laser technologies.

This introduction to Atomic and Molecular Physics explains how our present model of atoms and molecules has been developed over the last two centuries both 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 are offered to encourage readers to actively engage in applying and adapting the fundamental physics presented in this textbook to specific situations. Completely revised third edition with new sections covering all actual developments, like photonics, ultrashort lasers, ultraprecise frequency combs, free electron lasers, cooling and trapping of atoms, quantum optics and quantum information.

In this volume, recent contributions on coherence provide a useful perspective on the diversity of various coherent sources of emission and coherent related phenomena of current interest. These papers provide a preamble for a larger collection of contributions on ultrashort pulse laser generation and ultrashort pulse laser phenomena. Papers on ultrashort pulse phenomena include works on few cycle pulses, high-power generation, propagation in various media, to various applications of current interest. Undoubtedly, Coherence and Ultrashort Pulse Emission offers a rich and practical perspective on this rapidly evolving field.