Team Leader: Professor D. Gauyacq
Organisational Experience: Coordinator of a Franco-Greek Collaboration programme (PICS, l 52, CNRS) with the FORTH-IESL, Heraklion, Crete {Dr. S. Couris); participant of the "SADOVEM" EC Science Programme (SCI-CT).
Research Experience: Studies of stable and unstable molecules as well as van der Waals complexes with molecular spectroscopy. Molecular Rydberg state spectroscopy and dynamics via resonant multiphoton ionisation.
Network Role: Performing spectroscopic REMPI and LIF measurements as well as synchrotron radiation studies on hydrocarbon radicals and ions formed by photodissociation and photoionisation in close collaboration with the Amsterdam and Crete groups.
Staff Involved: Profesor D. Gauyacq, Professor P. Brechignac, Professor G. Taieb, Dr. S. Douin, Dr. P. Parneix, Dr. M. Raoult, Dr. N. Shafizadeh. They will each be involved for 4months/year over the project period.
Research Links: Collaboration between the Heraklion (FORTH) group has existed for about seven years (PLATON Twinning Programme, PICS Programme). Visits and scientific discussions with the Amsterdam group over several years.
Laboratory: The Orsay team is part of the Laboratoire de Photophysique Moléculaire du CNRS (UPR 336l ). The specific equipment consists of two molecular beam spectrometers, one photoelectron "magnetic bottle" spectrometers, one time-of flight mass analyser, a dispersed fluorescence detection apparatus, two YAG pumped dye lasers, two excimer pumped dye lasers, one OPO laser. This team also uses the synchrotron radiation facility SuperACO at Orsay, combined with a molecular beam experiment coupled with either a dispersed visible fluorescence detection or coïncidence ion-electron detection. Theoretical approaches combine a number of theoretical methods (molecular dynamics, multichannel quantum defect, ab initio, etc.).
Research Role: The expertise of the group on molecular Rydberg structure and van der Waals complexes will allow the study of new intermediate species and clusters both experimentally and theoretically. A strong interaction is expected with the Southampton group on the cluster work; and the Amsterdam and Crete groups for the analysis and interpretation of picosecond and subpicosecond MPI-PES experiments. Theoretical input to the network will include multichannel quantum defect calculations.