This open access book covers recent advances in experiments using the ultra-cold, very weakly perturbing superfluid environment provided by helium nanodroplets for high resolution spectroscopic, structural and dynamic studies of molecules and synthetic clusters. The recent infra-red, UV-Vis studies of radicals, molecules, clusters, ions and biomolecules, as well as laser dynamical and laser orientational studies, are reviewed. The Coulomb explosion studies of the uniquely quantum structures of small helium clusters, X-ray imaging of large droplets and electron diffraction of embedded molecules are also described. Particular emphasis is given to the synthesis and detection of new species by mass spectrometry and deposition electron microscopy.

Recent years have seen tremendous progress in research on cold and controlled molecular collisions, both in theory and in experiment. The advent of techniques to prepare cold and ultracold molecules and ions, to store them in optical lattices or in charged quasicristalline structures, and to use them in crossed or merged beam experiments have opened many new possibilities to study the most fundamental aspects of molecular interactions. At the same time, theoretical work has made progress in tackling these problems and accurately describing quantum effects in complex systems, and in proposing viable options to control chemical reactions at ultralow energies. Through tutorials on both the theoretical and experimental aspects of research in cold and ultracold molecular collisions, this book provides advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers with the foundations needed to understand this exciting field.

Nanodroplets, the basis of complex and advanced nanostructures such as quantum rings, quantum dots and quantum dot clusters for future electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices, have attracted the interdisciplinary interest of chemists, physicists and engineers. This book combines experimental and theoretical analyses of nanosized droplets which reveal many attractive properties. Coverage includes nanodroplet synthesis, structure, unique behaviors and their nanofabrication, including chapters on focused ion beam, atomic force microscopy, molecular beam epitaxy and the "vapor-liquid- solid" route. Particular emphasis is given to the behavior of metallic nanodroplets, water nanodroplets and nanodroplets in polymer and metamaterial nanocomposites. The contributions of leading scientists and their research groups will provide readers with deeper insight into the chemical and physical mechanisms, properties, and potential applications of various nanodroplets.

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.

This title covers the state of the art in this field both theoretically and experimentally. With contributions from leading researchers including several Nobel laureates, it represents a long-lasting source of reference on all aspects of fundamental research into or using atomic and molecular beams.

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.

In the 1990s, nanoparticles and quantum dots began to be used in optical, electronic, and biological applications. Now they are being studied for use in solid-state quantum computation, tumor imaging, and photovoltaics. Handbook of Nanophysics: Nanoparticles and Quantum Dots focuses on the fundamental physics of these nanoscale materials and struct