Optical Processes in Solids

by Yutaka Toyozawa

Overview

Light, or electromagnetic wave, is the most powerful tool for probing the quantum mechanical motions of electrons and nuclei within molecules and condensed matter. Optical Processes in Solids describes the principles of this spectroscopic study with the help of illustrative comparisons of theoretical and experimental results that take into account the revolutionary progress brought about by the use of intense lasers and high-energy synchrotron light. In the final chapter Yutaka Toyozawa presents a speculative scenario on how solar light may have caused chemical reactions among atoms and molecules, leading to the creation and evolution of life on earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521556057
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/09/2003
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	442
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x 0.91(d)

About the Author

Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Radiation field; 2. Quantum mechanics and the harmonic oscillator; 3. The interaction of radiation with matter; 4. Electronic versus nuclear motions and the optical spectra of localized electrons in solids; 5. Lattice vibrations; 6. Electric susceptibility and the dielectric constant; 7. One electron states in solids; 8. Excitons; 9. Polarons and the self-trapped state; 10. Optical spectra of excitons in the phonon field; 11. Higher order optical processes; 12. Inner shell excitation; 13. Photo-induced structural changes; 14. Light, matter, and life.