In this project in the Physical Chemistry program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Richard Saykally of the Department of Chemistry of the University of California at Berkeley will engage in continuing studies of the structure and dynamics of weakly bound molecular complexes. Special emphasis is paid to the dynamical aspects. The experimental data will be obtained by ultra high resolution laser spectroscopy and their analysis will be accompanied by rigorous theoretical modeling in order to obtain highly detailed intermolecular potential energy surfaces. Specifically, the data from which this information is extracted are vibration-rotation-tunneling (VRT) spectra. Extensions to hydrated proton complexes and amino acid complexes will be made possible by continued developments in the technology of VRT spectroscopy. Since intramolecular interactions are known to be non-additive, the emphasis will be on trimer and higher order complexes. The structure and dynamics of condensed phase matter, other than metals and semiconductors, is largely determined by the weak interactions between strongly bound molecules. This research serves to obtain a better molecular level understanding of the intermolecular interactions that govern the behavior of condensed phase systems, including those of biological importance.
