Ultrafast Dynamics of Molecular Solids Under Extreme Pressure

Eric Chronister博士获得了实验物理化学计划的资助，研究极端压力下分子固体中的快速动力学过程。这些实验将提供关于化学反应如何受到极低温度下的极压条件影响的重要信息。在这个项目中，Chronister将利用高压和时间分辨相干光谱来研究固态分子间相互作用的细节，这是其他方法无法获得的。虽然温度为系统在势能表面上运动提供能量，但密度增加的效果是非常不同的，因为它影响势能表面的形状。Chronister的研究将有助于发展光学减相、振动弛豫和非均匀相干损失的动力学理论，所有这些理论都是由分子间势能函数的形状控制的。由于低温下分子固体弛豫动力学的高压研究还没有完成，Chronister将从纯晶体和混合晶体系统以及一些新型分子固体的详细研究开始。

Dr. Eric Chronister is supported by a grant from the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to study fast dynamical processes which occur in molecular solids at extreme pressures. These experiments will provide important information on how chemical reactions are influenced by conditions of extreme pressure at very low temperatures. In this project Chronister will utilize high pressure and time-resolved coherent spectroscopies to study details of solid state intermolecular interactions which cannot be obtained by other means. Although temperature provides the energy for a system to move on a potential energy surface, the effect of increased density is very different since it influences the shape of the potential energy surface. Chronister's research will be useful in developing dynamic theories of optical dephasing, vibronic relaxation and inhomogeneous coherence loss, all of which are controlled by the shape of the intermolecular potential energy function. Since no high pressure studies of relaxation dynamics of molecular solids at low temperature have yet been done, Chronister will begin with detailed studies of pure and mixed crystal systems as well as some novel molecular solids.