Abstract

Clusters of atoms or molecules in the gas phase span the gap between isolated gas-phase species and those in condensed phases. Many important and interesting physical and chemical phenomena can be examined in clusters of controlled sizes, given a radiation source with the characteristics of a vacuum-ultraviolet free-electron laser, such as tunability throughout the vacuum ultraviolet, narrow bandwidth, nanosecond pulse widths, and extremely high photon flux. A survey is presented of experiments feasible with a free-electron laser that have a bearing on the dynamics of chemical reactions. They are reasonable and logical extensions of existing research programs.

© 1989 Optical Society of America

Fluorescence spectroscopy as a probe of the electronic structure and the dynamics of rare-gas clusters

T. Möller and G. Zimmerer
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 6(5) 1062-1071 (1989)

Material applications of the far-infrared free-electron laser

John D. Simon, John E. Crowell, John H. Weare, and David R. Miller
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 6(5) 1035-1044 (1989)

Free-electron lasers in ultraviolet photobiology

Thomas P. Coohill and John C. Sutherland
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 6(5) 1079-1082 (1989)

Application of a two-color free-electron laser to condensed-matter molecular dynamics

Dana D. Dlott and Michael D. Fayer
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 6(5) 977-994 (1989)

Precision spectroscopy on stored, highly charged ions using free-electron-laser radiation

D. A. Church and S. D. Kravis
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 6(5) 1075-1078 (1989)