Dynamics and Transport in Helium Nanodroplets

在这个由化学系实验物理化学项目资助的奖项中，南加州大学的Curt Wittig教授和他的博士后、研究生、本科生和高中生同事将研究吸收了杂质物种的氦纳米液滴的动力学。一些需要研究的事情包括由铅原子的拾取引起的氦纳米液滴中涡旋的存在或不存在，以及里德堡液滴的形成--一种被氦液滴包裹的铅离子，整个液滴周围有一个延伸的里德堡轨道。这两个物种以前都没有被观察到，因此实验是有风险的。整个努力得益于与同样在南加州大学的理论家安娜·克里洛夫和她的学生的合作。氦纳米液滴是一种不同寻常的量子环境，越来越多地被用作研究原子和分子的物理和化学的独特的微型实验室，但这些研究需要本工作中概述的那种基础实验，以开发必要的模型来描述物质在这些纳米量子液体中的行为。除了这些研究对物理和化学的更广泛的科学影响外，维蒂希教授还将继续指导不同的学生群体--他们的职业生涯阶段从高中到博士后水平。此外，他还将继续开发他独特的化学物理/物理化学研究生水平的课程材料。

In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Curt Wittig of the University of Southern California and his postdoctoral, graduate, undergraduate and high school student colleagues will study the dynamics of helium nanodroplets which have absorbed an impurity species. Some of the things to be studied include the presence or absence of vortices in the helium nanodroplet, induced by the pick-up of a lead atom, and the formation of Rydberg droplets -- a lead ion sheathed by the He droplet with an extended Rydberg orbital surrounding the whole. Neither of these species have been observed previously, and as such the experiments are risky. The entire effort benefits from collaboration with theorist Anna Krylov and her students, also at USC. Helium nanodroplets are an unusual quantum environment.that are seeing increased use as a unique, miniature laboratory for studying the physics and chemistry of atoms and molecules, but these studies require the kind of fundamental experiments outlined in this work to develop the necessary models to describe how matter behaves in these nanoscopic quantum liquids. In addition to the broader scientific impacts of these studies on physics and chemistry, Prof. Wittig will continue his mentoring of a diverse group of students -- whose career stages range from high school through postdoctoral level. In addition, he will continue to develop his unique chemical physics/physical chemistry graduate level curricular materials.