GSC Seminar 12

Title:

"Photons, atoms, and molecules"

Lecturer:

Professor Farhad Faisal
Faculty of Physics, Bielefeld University, Germany

Host:

Professor Kaoru Yamanouchi
Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science

Abstract：

The theoretical background of the most fundamental light-induced processes in atoms and molecules is presented. After overviewing the classical description of electromagnetic fields, the theory of how these fields can be quantized to arrive to the concept of photons is discussed. Using the framework of quantum mechanics and the quantized electromagnetic field, atomic and molecular transition amplitudes are computed in order to describe photoabsorption and photoemission processes. Finally, the basic theoretical principles of how lasers work will be discussed.