The research projects in the Department of Molecular Physics focus on two main topics:
(i) "Molecular physics studies with infrared radiation".
In these research projects, the IR optical properties and dynamics of molecules, clusters and cluster-adsorbate complexes are studied in the gas-phase. Highlights during the last two years have been the measurement of the far-infrared vibrational spectra for a variety of transition metal clusters, and the spectroscopic identification of unexpected structures for gas phase aluminum-oxide clusters.
(ii) "Cold Molecules".
The aim of these research projects is to develop experimental schemes to achieve full control over both the internal and external degrees of freedom of neutral molecules, and to exploit these schemes in investigations of the properties of (samples of) cold molecules. Highlights of this research have been the proof-of-principle demonstration of collision studies as a function of collision energy and the demonstration of a "molecular synchrotron".