This research, in the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program, is aimed at understanding the energetics and dynamics of weakly bound molecules including complexes and clusters. The research will obtain infrared and microwave spectra of a variety of weakly bound molecules. The data will be analyzed to yield molecular geometries, shifts in vibational frequencies and electronic properties such as moments and field gradients. Much of the work will be directed at families of clusters and complexes containing water and acetylene. Electronic properties of stable molecules in excited vibrational and electronic states will also be measured, in order to help describe long range interactions of loosely bound species.
