Ultrafast spectroscopy : quantum information and wavepackets / Joel Yuen-Zhou, Jacob J. Krich, Ivan Kassal, Allan S. Johnson, Alán Aspuru-Guzik.

"Version: 20140801"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references.

The authors -- Glossary of common terms -- Introduction -- The process matrix and how to determine it : quantum process tomography -- Model systems and energy scales

Interaction of light pulses with ensembles of chromophores : polarization gratings -- Laser-induced polarization gratings -- Induced linear and nonlinear polarization in an ideal coupled dimer -- Measuring the signal : connecting induced polarization to experimental results

Interaction of light pulses with ensembles of chromophores : wavepackets -- Linear absorption spectroscopy -- Pump-probe (PP0) spectroscopy

Putting it all together : quantum process tomography and pump-probe spectroscopies -- Broadband PP0 spectra in terms of the process matrix -- Performing QPT using PP0 data

Computational methods for spectroscopy simulations -- Propagation of wavefunctions -- Numerical simulation of frequency-resolved linear absorption -- Numerical simulation of frequency-integrated linear and nonlinear spectra -- Extensions : boundary conditions and relaxation dynamics

Conclusions -- Appendices -- A. Mathematical description of a short pulse of light -- B. Validity of time-dependent perturbation theory in the treatment of light-matter interaction -- C. Many-molecule quantum states of an ensemble of chromophores interacting with coherent light -- D. Frequency-resolved spectroscopy -- E. Two-dimensional spectroscopy -- F. Isotropic averaging of signals

"The applications of nonlinear ultrafast spectroscopy are numerous and widespread and it is an established and indispensable technique for revealing ultrafast processes in modern material, chemical and biochemical research. Unfortunately it is also a topic that can be daunting to those meeting it for the first time. Assuming just an understanding of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics and making use of many worked examples and accompanied by MATLAB codes for numerical simulations of spectra, this book delivers a practical and intuitive introduction to the subject for advanced students and researchers. It will also be useful for practitioners, who are already familiar with the subject, but who want to develop a more conceptual understanding. In this clear text, experienced practitioners present a simple and conceptually intuitive overview of ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy using the formalism of quantum processes and wavepacket dynamics. Using this unified framework the authors provide the reader with simple analytical models, examples and concepts to understand the workings of nonlinear spectroscopy through a pedagogical and physically intuitive approach. The core of the book is the section on pump-probe spectroscopy as on understanding its mathematical description, more complex and multidimensional spectroscopies become easily understood derivatives. Readers, once familiar with the material in this text, will be fully equipped with the tools to devise and undertake well-reasoned spectroscopic experiments."

Graduate students and researchers in chemical physics, physics and chemistry.

Also available in print.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Joel Yuen-Zhou is currently at the Robert J. Silbey Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center of Excitonics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jacob Krich is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Ottawa. Ivan Kassal is UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Queensland. Allan Johnson is a Marie-Curie Early Stage Researcher and NSERC PGS award holder in the Quantum Optics and Laser Science division at Imperial College London. Alán Aspuru-Guzik is a Professor at Harvard University in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. He received his doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and was the recipient of the 35 Innovators under 35 by MIT Technology Review for his contributions to the intersection of quantum information and quantum chemistry.

Title from PDF title page (viewed on October 8, 2014).