Adiabatic Interaction

Abstract

In the last three chapters we considered the main principles of light emission and absorption by a single atom. Of course, any sample contains a large number of atoms, and we have not yet discussed how a system consisting of a single atom can be prepared. If we deal with atoms in the vapor phase, the problem of preparing a trap for a single atom can be solved, although it is not easy to realize from a technical standpoint. However, research with complex organic molecules in the vapor phase is an insoluble problem, because many of these molecules will be destroyed in the course of evaporation. Therefore, complex organic molecules are usually studied in a condensed phase. Matrix isolation of complex molecules in a transparent, low temperature solution is the main method in single-molecule spectroscopy [3,35].