See selected Publications

See details on the various laser setups

    We are interested in answering questions that are relevant to the physical chemistry of life processes focusing on building models for different types of chemical reactions fundamental to biological structure, function, and evolution.  Theses topics include low barrier hydrogen bonds, dynamical behavior of л-hydrogen bonded systems, solvent reorganization, conformational landscape, and charge redistribution in complexes.  

    To solve these problems, we combine the techniques of supersonic expansions, CW molecular beams, single frequency UV lasers, spatially selective fluorescence detection, and high speed data acquisition.

     The obtained rotationally resolved spectra are analyzed by specially designed software.  The resulting moments of inertia give information about the structures of the molecule or complex in both the ground and first excited state. 

     The application of an external electric field to the sample has made possible the measurement of the permanent electric dipole moments, also in both states, via the Stark effect.  Large changes in the geometry will occur in some systems with the absorption of light, owing to the excitation of electrons from bonding orbitals to antibonding ones, thereby providing insight into the dynamics of chemical reactivity.