Quantum light theory effect

The general theory for the absorption of light and its extension to photodissociation is outlined in Chapter 2. Chapters 3-5 summarize the basic theoretical tools, namely the time-independent and the time-dependent quantum mechanical theories as well as the classical trajectory picture of photodissociation. The two fundamental types of photofragmentation — direct and indirect photodissociation — will be elucidated in Chapters 6 and 7, and in Chapter 8 I will focus attention on some intermediate cases, which are neither truly direct nor indirect. Chapters 9-11 consider in detail the internal quantum state distributions of the fragment molecules which contain a wealth of information on the dissociation dynamics. Some related and more advanced topics such as the dissociation of van der Waals molecules, dissociation of vibrationally excited molecules, emission during dissociation, and nonadiabatic effects are discussed in Chapters 12-15. Finally, we consider briefly in Chapter 16 the most recent class of experiments, i.e., the photodissociation with laser pulses in the femtosecond range, which allows the study of the evolution of the molecular system in real time. 

Albert Einstein s 1905 work on the photoelectric effect paved the way for one of the greatest advances of twentieth-century science, the theory of quantum mechanics. Light had always been regarded as a wave. Quantum mechanics introduced the concept of light being transmitted in wave packets, or photons, that have particle-like qualities as well as wave-like qualities. 

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