Andrey V Solov'yov - Böcker

This book invites readers to explore the frontiers of atomic, molecular, and optical physics — and what lies beyond. Atomic and molecular physics is relevant to everything around us, because everything in our immediate environment is made up of atoms and molecules. That said, there are a multitude of fascinating things in the world that cannot be thought of as merely a collection of atoms and molecules. How is it that, when matter grows from a single atom or molecule into a larger and larger system, a new reality emerges with all its specific features and properties? To what extent are the properties of larger systems determined by the properties of individual atoms and molecules, rather than by the properties of the whole system as it grows? At what scales do new properties appear in the system, and how do they influence other properties in the system? This book does not provide definitive answers to these questions, but rather points the way to their resolution by presenting concrete, solvable case studies from various fields that can provide some elucidation.With contributions from leading scientists, the book covers a wide range of topics — from multiscale computational modelling, nanoscience, and plasmonic chemistry to radiation damage in biomolecular systems and the foundations of astrochemistry. Many of the research areas addressed are closely related to cutting-edge technological and medical applications, such as radiotherapy and 3D nanoprinting. Ideal for researchers and advanced students across the physical and life sciences, the volume offers a rich exploration of how physics intersects with emerging technologies and global scientific challenges.

This book presents a “snapshot” of the most recent and significant advances in the field of cluster physics. It is a comprehensive review based on contributions by the participants of the 2nd International Symposium on Atomic Cluster Collisions (ISACC 2007) held in July 19-23, 2007 at GSI, Darmstadt, Germany. The purpose of the Symposium is to promote the growth and exhange of scientific information on the structure and properties of nuclear, atomic, molecular, biological and complex cluster systems studied by means of photonic, electronic, heavy particle and atomic collisions. Particular attention is devoted to dynamic phenomena, many-body effects taking place in cluster systems of a different nature — these include problems of fusion and fission, fragmentation, collective electron excitations, phase transitions, etc. Both the experimental and theoretical aspects of cluster physics, uniquely placed between nuclear physics on the one hand and atomic, molecular and solid state physics on the other, are discussed.

This comprehensive volume surveys the general aspects of atomic cluster science and outlines some of its important new challenges. It begins by detailing the recent advances in the understanding of structure and the essential properties of selected atomic cluster systems, fullerenes and confined atoms. Recent advances in the field of photo processes involving atomic clusters and fullerenes are discussed, and an entire chapter is devoted to the problem of fission dynamics of atomic clusters, presenting parallels with similar processes in nuclear physics.The book goes on to describe the problems of electron-cluster collisions with special emphasis on polarization and collective excitation effects. The important area of the behavior of atomic clusters in laser fields is considered; the ionization, collective dynamics of electrons in the system in the presence of the laser field, and the laser induced dynamics of molecules and clusters are thoroughly described.Finally, a broad spectrum of problems in the area of ionic collisions with fullerenes and metal clusters is covered — from both experimental and theoretical points of view — and the results of the most recent measurements are reported. The concluding chapter takes a careful look at the interaction of an atomic cluster with a surface. The problems of cluster deposition and formation at a surface as well as collision processes involving clusters deposited at a surface are considered through a number of illustrative examples.

This book presents the structure formation and dynamics of animate and inanimate matter on the nanometre scale. Special attention in the book is devoted to investigations of the structure, properties and dynamics of complex MBN systems by means of photonic, electronic, heavy particle and atomic collisions.

This book presents the structure formation and dynamics of animate and inanimate matter on the nanometre scale. This is a new interdisciplinary field known as Meso-Bio-Nano (MBN) science that lies at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology and material science. Special attention in the book is devoted to investigations of the structure, properties and dynamics of complex MBN systems by means of photonic, electronic, heavy particle and atomic collisions. This includes problems of fusion and fission, fragmentation, surfaces and interfaces, reactivity, nanoscale phase and morphological transitions, irradiation-driven transformations of complex molecular systems, collective electron excitations, radiation damage and biodamage, channeling phenomena and many more. Emphasis in the book is placed on the theoretical and computational physics research advances in these areas and related state-of-the-art experiments. Particular attention in the book is devoted to the utilization of advanced computational techniques and high-performance computing in studies of the dynamics of systems.

This book discusses possibilities and perspectives for designing and practical realization of novel intensive gamma-ray crystal-based light sources that can be constructed through exposure of oriented crystals—linear, bent and periodically bent, to beams of ultrarelativistic positrons and electrons.The book shows case studies like the tunable light sources based on periodically bent crystals that can be designed with the state-of-the-art beam facilities. A special focus is given to the analysis of generation of the gamma rays because the current technologies based on particle motion in the magnetic field become inefficient or incapable to achieve the desired gamma rays’ intensities. It is demonstrated that the intensity of radiation from crystal-based light sources can be made comparable to or even higher than what is achievable in conventional synchrotrons and undulators operating although in the much lower photon energy range. By exploring the coherence effects, the intensity can be boosted by orders of magnitude. The practical realization of such novel light sources will lead to the significant technological breakthroughs and societal impacts similar to those created earlier by the developments of lasers, synchrotrons and X-rays free-electron lasers.Readers learn about the underlying fundamental physics and familiarize with the theoretical, experimental and technological advances made during last two decades in exploring various features of investigations into crystal-based light sources. This research draws upon knowledge from many research fields, such as material science, beam physics, physics of radiation, solid-state physics and acoustics, to name but a few. The authors provide a useful introduction in this emerging field to a broad readership of researchers and scientists with various backgrounds and, accordingly, make the book as self-contained as possible.

This book discusses possibilities and perspectives for designing and practical realization of novel intensive gamma-ray crystal-based light sources that can be constructed through exposure of oriented crystals—linear, bent and periodically bent, to beams of ultrarelativistic positrons and electrons.The book shows case studies like the tunable light sources based on periodically bent crystals that can be designed with the state-of-the-art beam facilities. A special focus is given to the analysis of generation of the gamma rays because the current technologies based on particle motion in the magnetic field become inefficient or incapable to achieve the desired gamma rays’ intensities. It is demonstrated that the intensity of radiation from crystal-based light sources can be made comparable to or even higher than what is achievable in conventional synchrotrons and undulators operating although in the much lower photon energy range. By exploring the coherence effects, the intensity can be boosted by orders of magnitude. The practical realization of such novel light sources will lead to the significant technological breakthroughs and societal impacts similar to those created earlier by the developments of lasers, synchrotrons and X-rays free-electron lasers.Readers learn about the underlying fundamental physics and familiarize with the theoretical, experimental and technological advances made during last two decades in exploring various features of investigations into crystal-based light sources. This research draws upon knowledge from many research fields, such as material science, beam physics, physics of radiation, solid-state physics and acoustics, to name but a few. The authors provide a useful introduction in this emerging field to a broad readership of researchers and scientists with various backgrounds and, accordingly, make the book as self-contained as possible.

This book provides a unique and comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art understanding of the molecular and nano-scale processes that play significant roles in ion-beam cancer therapy. It covers experimental design and methodology, and reviews the theoretical understanding of the processes involved. It offers the reader an opportunity to learn from a coherent approach about the physics, chemistry and biology relevant to ion-beam cancer therapy, a growing field of important medical application worldwide. The book describes phenomena occurring on different time and energy scales relevant to the radiation damage of biological targets and ion-beam cancer therapy from the molecular (nano) scale up to the macroscopic level. It illustrates how ion-beam therapy offers the possibility of excellent dose localization for treatment of malignant tumours, minimizing radiation damage in normal tissue whilst maximizing cell-killing within the tumour, offering a significant development incancer therapy. The full potential of such therapy can only be realized by better understanding the physical, chemical and biological mechanisms, on a range of time and space scales that lead to cell death under ion irradiation. This book describes how, using a multiscale approach, experimental and theoretical expertise available can lead to greater insight at the nanoscopic and molecular level into radiation damage of biological targets induced by ion impact.The book is intended for advanced students and specialists in the areas of physics, chemistry, biology and medicine related to ion-beam therapy, radiation protection, biophysics, radiation nanophysics and chemistry, atomic and molecular physics, condensed matter physics, and the physics of interaction of charged particles with matter. One of the most important features of the book is the inclusive multiscale approach to the understanding of complex and highly interdisciplinary processes behind ion-beam cancer therapy, which stretches from the atomistic level up to the biological scale and is demonstrated to be in excellent agreement with experimental observations.

This book introduces readers to MesoBioNano (MBN) Explorer – a multi-purpose software package designed to model molecular systems at various levels of size and complexity. In addition, it presents a specially designed multi-task toolkit and interface – the MBN Studio – which enables the set-up of input files, controls the simulations, and supports the subsequent visualization and analysis of the results obtained. The book subsequently provides a systematic description of the capabilities of this universal and powerful software package within the framework of computational molecular science, and guides readers through its applications in numerous areas of research in bio- and chemical physics and material science – ranging from the nano- to the mesoscale.MBN Explorer is particularly suited to computing the system’s energy, to optimizing molecular structure, and to exploring the various facets of molecular and random walk dynamics. The package allows the use of a broadvariety of interatomic potentials and can, e.g., be configured to select any subset of a molecular system as rigid fragments, whenever a significant reduction in the number of dynamical degrees of freedom is required for computational practicalities. MBN Studio enables users to easily construct initial geometries for the molecular, liquid, crystalline, gaseous and hybrid systems that serve as input for the subsequent simulations of their physical and chemical properties using MBN Explorer.Despite its universality, the computational efficiency of MBN Explorer is comparable to that of other, more specialized software packages, making it a viable multi-purpose alternative for the computational modeling of complex molecular systems. A number of detailed case studies presented in the second part of this book demonstrate MBN Explorer’s usefulness and efficiency in the fields of atomic clusters and nanoparticles, biomolecular systems, nanostructured materials, composite materials and hybrid systems, crystals, liquids and gases, as well as in providing modeling support for novel and emerging technologies.Last but not least, with the release of the 3rd edition of MBN Explorer in spring 2017, a free trial version will be available from the MBN Research Center website (mbnresearch.com).

This book provides a unique and comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art understanding of the molecular and nano-scale processes that play significant roles in ion-beam cancer therapy. It covers experimental design and methodology, and reviews the theoretical understanding of the processes involved. It offers the reader an opportunity to learn from a coherent approach about the physics, chemistry and biology relevant to ion-beam cancer therapy, a growing field of important medical application worldwide. The book describes phenomena occurring on different time and energy scales relevant to the radiation damage of biological targets and ion-beam cancer therapy from the molecular (nano) scale up to the macroscopic level. It illustrates how ion-beam therapy offers the possibility of excellent dose localization for treatment of malignant tumours, minimizing radiation damage in normal tissue whilst maximizing cell-killing within the tumour, offering a significant development incancer therapy. The full potential of such therapy can only be realized by better understanding the physical, chemical and biological mechanisms, on a range of time and space scales that lead to cell death under ion irradiation. This book describes how, using a multiscale approach, experimental and theoretical expertise available can lead to greater insight at the nanoscopic and molecular level into radiation damage of biological targets induced by ion impact.The book is intended for advanced students and specialists in the areas of physics, chemistry, biology and medicine related to ion-beam therapy, radiation protection, biophysics, radiation nanophysics and chemistry, atomic and molecular physics, condensed matter physics, and the physics of interaction of charged particles with matter. One of the most important features of the book is the inclusive multiscale approach to the understanding of complex and highly interdisciplinary processes behind ion-beam cancer therapy, which stretches from the atomistic level up to the biological scale and is demonstrated to be in excellent agreement with experimental observations.

This book introduces readers to MesoBioNano (MBN) Explorer – a multi-purpose software package designed to model molecular systems at various levels of size and complexity. In addition, it presents a specially designed multi-task toolkit and interface – the MBN Studio – which enables the set-up of input files, controls the simulations, and supports the subsequent visualization and analysis of the results obtained. The book subsequently provides a systematic description of the capabilities of this universal and powerful software package within the framework of computational molecular science, and guides readers through its applications in numerous areas of research in bio- and chemical physics and material science – ranging from the nano- to the mesoscale.MBN Explorer is particularly suited to computing the system’s energy, to optimizing molecular structure, and to exploring the various facets of molecular and random walk dynamics. The package allows the use of a broadvariety of interatomic potentials and can, e.g., be configured to select any subset of a molecular system as rigid fragments, whenever a significant reduction in the number of dynamical degrees of freedom is required for computational practicalities. MBN Studio enables users to easily construct initial geometries for the molecular, liquid, crystalline, gaseous and hybrid systems that serve as input for the subsequent simulations of their physical and chemical properties using MBN Explorer.Despite its universality, the computational efficiency of MBN Explorer is comparable to that of other, more specialized software packages, making it a viable multi-purpose alternative for the computational modeling of complex molecular systems. A number of detailed case studies presented in the second part of this book demonstrate MBN Explorer’s usefulness and efficiency in the fields of atomic clusters and nanoparticles, biomolecular systems, nanostructured materials, composite materials and hybrid systems, crystals, liquids and gases, as well as in providing modeling support for novel and emerging technologies.Last but not least, with the release of the 3rd edition of MBN Explorer in spring 2017, a free trial version will be available from the MBN Research Center website (mbnresearch.com).

This book introduces and reviews both theory and applications of polarizational bremsstrahlung, i.e. the electromagnetic radiation emitted during collisions of charged particles with structured, thus polarizable targets, such as atoms, molecules and clusters.The subject, following the first experimental evidence a few decades ago, has gained importance through a number of modern applications. Thus, the study of several radiative mechanisms is expected to lead to the design of novel light sources, operating in various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Conversely, the analysis of the spectral and angular distribution of the photon emission constitutes a new tool for extracting information on the interaction of the colliding particles, and on their internal structure and dynamical properties. Last but not least, accurate quantitative descriptions of the photon emission processes determine the radiative energy losses of particles in various media, thereby providing essential information required for e.g. plasma diagnostics as well as astrophysical and medical applications (such as radiation therapy).This book primarily addresses graduate students and researchers with a background in atomic, molecular, optical or plasma physics, but will also be of benefit to anyone wishing to enter the field.

The development of coherent radiation sources for sub-angstrom wavelengths - i.e. in the hard X-ray and gamma-ray range - is a challenging goal of modern physics. The availability of such sources will have many applications in basic science, technology and medicine and in particular, they may have a revolutionary impact on nuclear and solid state physics, as well as on the life sciences. The present state-of-the-art lasers are capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation from the infrared to the ultraviolet, while free electron lasers (X-FELs) are now entering the soft X-ray region. Moving further, i.e. into the hard X and/or gamma ray band, however, is not possible without new approaches and technologies.In this book we introduce and discuss one such novel approach -the radiation formed in a Crystalline Undulator - whereby electromagnetic radiation is generated by a bunch of ultra-relativistic particles channeling through a periodically bent crystalline structure. Under certain conditions, such a device can emit intensive spontaneous monochromatic radiation and even reach the coherence of laser light sources.Readers will be presented with the underlying fundamental physics and be familiarized with the theoretical, experimental and technological advances made during the last one and a half decades in exploring the various features of investigations into crystalline undulators. This research draws upon knowledge from many research fields - such as materials science, beam physics, the physics of radiation, solid state physics and acoustics, to name but a few. Accordingly, much care has been taken by the authors to make the book as self-contained as possible in this respect, so as to also provide a useful introduction to this emerging field to a broad readership of researchers and scientist with various backgrounds.This new edition has been revised and extended to take recent developments in the field into account.

This research draws upon knowledge from many research fields - such as materials science, beam physics, the physics of radiation, solid state physics and acoustics, to name but a few.