Resonant and Non-Resonant Interaction of Light with Matter

Graduate / Professional

This course considers the interaction of light with individual molecules and collections of molecules in solutions and solids from the perspective of a classical radiation field interacting with the energy levels that arise from quantized motions. We begin with the generation of light by accelerated charges as described by Maxwell’s equations for the electric and magnetic fields. We then consider the polarization states of light, how the oscillating electric field drives the motions of electrons, and how this results in scattering when off-resonant and then evolves into shifts in level populations as the frequency approaches that of the eigenenergies between levels. Classical analogies to quantum mechanical behavior are stressed in the context of the damped-driven electron in a harmonic potential (the so-called Drude model). The kinetics of absorption and emission are discussed in the context of the Einstein treatment that leads to light amplification and laser action. Finally, we develop the “selection rules” that describe what transitions can occur depending on the light polarization and the character of the electronic and nuclear motions. Prerequisite: an upper-level undergraduate physics course in electricity and magnetism or CHEM 576. ½ Course cr MW 11:35am-12:50pm