Abraham Nitzan - Böcker

This second edition of Chemical Dynamics in Condensed Phases provides a substantial modification and expansion of the first edition published in 2006. Nitzan offers a uniform approach to diverse problems encountered in the study of dynamical processes in condensed phase molecular systems. The textbook focuses on three themes: contextual background material, in-depth introduction of methodologies, and analysis of several key applications. These applications are among the most fundamental processes that underlie physical, chemical, and biological phenomena in complex systems.The comprehensive, advanced, and self-contained text provides the theoretical foundations for the processes affecting molecular dynamics in condensed phases that are encountered in the chemistry laboratory as well as in biology and material science research. The mathematical tools and the physical concepts necessary to develop the chemical description are provided first, followed by a detailed discussion of the fundamental chemical processes that underlie the chemical dynamics, including quantum and classical aspects of molecular motion and the interaction of molecules with the radiation field and the surrounding thermal environment. The last part of the book discusses several key processes: accumulation and relaxation of molecular energy, chemical reaction dynamics and the interplay of these dynamics with the dynamics and relaxation of the surrounding solvent, electron transfer reactions, electrode processes and molecular conduction junctions as well as molecular response to optical stimuli in solution and at dielectric interfaces. Attention is given to combining the mathematical analysis with qualitative physical understanding of the different dynamical phenomena.New to this edition is a new chapter 19 on the interaction of molecules with light at dielectric interfaces, motivated by the surge of interest in molecular plasmonics and molecular cavity electrodynamics, as well as a section relevant to this issue added to Chapter 10. Chapters on light-matter interaction and spectroscopy have been expanded to include subjects relevant to the foundation and practice of interfacial spectroscopy. Sections have also been added to include discussion of noise and fluctuations observed in single molecule spectroscopy and in molecular junction transport.

This text provides a uniform and consistent approach to diversified problems encountered in the study of dynamical processes in condensed phase molecular systems. Given the broad interdisciplinary aspect of this subject, the book focuses on three themes: coverage of needed background material, in-depth introduction of methodologies, and analysis of several key applications. The uniform approach and common language used in all discussions help to develop general understanding and insight on condensed phases chemical dynamics. The applications discussed are among the most fundamental processes that underlie physical, chemical and biological phenomena in complex systems.The first part of the book starts with a general review of basic mathematical and physical methods (Chapter 1) and a few introductory chapters on quantum dynamics (Chapter 2), interaction of radiation and matter (Chapter 3) and basic properties of solids (chapter 4) and liquids (Chapter 5). In the second part the text embarks on a broad coverage of the main methodological approaches. The central role of classical and quantum time correlation functions is emphasized in Chapter 6. The presentation of dynamical phenomena in complex systems as stochastic processes is discussed in Chapters 7 and 8. The basic theory of quantum relaxation phenomena is developed in Chapter 9, and carried on in Chapter 10 which introduces the density operator, its quantum evolution in Liouville space, and the concept of reduced equation of motions. The methodological part concludes with a discussion of linear response theory in Chapter 11, and of the spin-boson model in chapter 12. The third part of the book applies the methodologies introduced earlier to several fundamental processes that underlie much of the dynamical behaviour of condensed phase molecular systems. Vibrational relaxation and vibrational energy transfer (Chapter 13), Barrier crossing and diffusion controlled reactions (Chapter 14), solvation dynamics (Chapter 15), electron transfer in bulk solvents (Chapter 16) and at electrodes/electrolyte and metal/molecule/metal junctions (Chapter 17), and several processes pertaining to molecular spectroscopy in condensed phases (Chapter 18) are the main subjects discussed in this part.

This text provides a uniform and consistent approach to diversified problems encountered in the study of dynamical processes in condensed phase molecular systems. Given the broad interdisciplinary aspect of this subject, the book focuses on three themes: coverage of needed background material, in-depth introduction of methodologies, and analysis of several key applications. The uniform approach and common language used in all discussions help to develop general understanding and insight on condensed phases chemical dynamics. The applications discussed are among the most fundamental processes that underlie physical, chemical, and biological phenomena in complex systems.