Introduction

For almost 200 years spectroscopy has been one of the primary methods to probe the properties and dynamics of atoms and molecules. Despite its long history, it continues to be one of the most vigorous and active disciplines in the physical sciences.

In recent years a number of technological and methodological advances have opened up new exciting areas of study. Examples include biomolecules in the gas and condensed phases, molecules in extreme environments such as ultracold gases, metrology using frequency combs, THz spectroscopy and probes of fast molecular and electronic dynamics using femtosecond and attosecond laser sources. The impressive progress in the experimental domain has been going hand in hand with the advancement of theoretical methods to compute molecular structure, properties and spectra with increasing accuracy in ever larger systems.

FD150 provided a forum to discuss cutting-edge developments and future challenges in molecular spectroscopy. The topics addressed at the meeting included biomolecules in the gas and condensed phases, high and ultrahigh-resolution spectroscopy, studies of molecular dynamics in the time and frequency domain and progress in computational methods.

Aims

FD150 reviewed recent advances in spectroscopy from several areas to identify current frontiers of research and future directions. The meeting brought together scientists from different fields including chemistry, physics, the biosciences and related disciplines. 

Themes

• High- and ultrahigh-resolution spectroscopy 
• Biomolecules in the gas and condensed phases 
• Computational methods 
• Spectroscopy for molecular dynamics     

Scientific Committee

Professor John Maier FRS (University of Basel, Switzerland)  (Chair)
Professor Michael Ashfold FRS (University of Bristol, UK)
Professor Peter Bernath (University of York, UK)
Professor Jürgen Gauss (University of Mainz, Germany)
Professor Robin Hochstrasser (University of Pennsylvania, USA)
Professor Stefan Willitsch (University of Basel, Switzerland)

Sponsorship

We would like to thank Andor Technology for their generous support of this event.

Exhibitors

The following companies exhibited at this event