Entry requirements

120 credits and Chemical Binding in Molecules and Materials and Introduction to Materials Science. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

The course focuses on the use of various types of modern spectroscopy and prepares the student for further studies and for research in modern atomic and molecular physics.

On completion of the course the student shall be able to:

• independently plan experimental and theoretical studies on atoms and molecules
• evaluate and assess models, terminology and methods used in experimental and theoretical atomic and molecular physics
• explain the functioning and underlying principles of modern experimental equipment for spectroscopy of atoms and molecules
• critically evaluate research results and report the most important findings

Content

The hydrogen atom, the electron spin and atomic spectroscopy. Atoms in external fields. Helium and other many-electron atoms. The Born-Oppenheimer approximation and molecular spectroscopy. Electronic transitions in molecules, the Frank-Condon principle and ultrafast relaxation. Wave packets, short pulses and time-resolved spectroscopy. X-ray spectroscopy and molecular dynamics.

Instruction

Lectures, student presentations and reports on selected topics, guest lectures on up-to-date research, and demonstration experiments in state-of-the-art laboratories.

Assessment

Oral presentation and written report. 

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.