Department of Chemical Physics
Eli Pollak, Head
Research in the Department covers a broad spectrum of topics, including many subjects of current interest in chemistry and physics. Areas of research include theoretical studies of turbulence, the physics of fractals, properties of glass, chaos (classical and quantum mechanical), tunneling and dissipative phenomena, kinetics, and dynamics in surface condensed phases and ultrafast processes. Other areas include experimental and theoretical diffusion studies of the interaction of coherent light with matter, nonlinear optics, laser-induced processes in van der Waals molecules, coherent control of chemical reactions, cooling of molecules and theoretical quantum optics in dispersive media and in microcavities. A different area of active research is the study of the structure and properties of large molecular systems, and the interaction of electrons and molecules with organized thin films. Molecules on semiconductor surfaces are studied by combination of lasers and STM. A strong magnetic resonance group is active within the department, working on fields such as solid state NMR, MASS NMR of semiconductors, liquid crystals and proteins, porous materials, as well as pulsed EPR and electron-nuclear double resonance on metalloenzymes and porous solids. The department encourages interdisciplinary approaches to science, and there is much collaboration among members of the department and scientists and students from other faculties such as physics and the life sciences.
Atomic and molecular wave packets, ultra-fast optical phenomena.
Laser control of molecular orientation.
Manipulation of atoms and molecules by laser fields, laser cooling, atom lithography.
Statistical physics of nonequilibrium phenomena
Continuum solid mechanics and materials physics
- Dynamic fracture and friction
- Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of driven glassy systems
- Amorphous and dislocation-mediated plasticity theories
- The mechanics of biomaterials
Experimental Quantum Optics
- Cavity QED with single atoms coupled to chip-based micro-resonators
- Nonclassical photon-photon interactions
Development of new methods in nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging analysis.
Application of novel magnetic resonance methods to the study of new materials, bioinorganic metal-binding processes, liquid crystalline phases.
Study of mesoporous and microporous materials by pulsed EPR/ENDOR.
Studies of the structure of paramagnetic active sites in metalloenzymes and model compounds by pulsed ESR and pulse ENDOR.
High field EPR/ENDOR spectroscopy.
Theoretical studies and modelling of the physics that determines the shapes and dynamics of cells.
Theoretical problems in biological physics; active processes in cells involving molecular motors.
The physics of large scale pattern formation of cells in cellular cultures, in morphogenesis and wound-healing.
Research of collective quantum effects in Super-fluid, solid and super-solid Helium. Including magnetic phase transitions in solid and liquid helium.
Protein folding studied on the level of the individual molecule.
G. Haran, Devarajan Thirumalai (University of Maryland), Lynne Regan (Yale University), Stefano Gianni (University of Rome)Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy of the mechanism of action of molecular chaperones
G. Haran, Amnon HorovitzPlasmonics: probing the interaction of metal nanoparticles with light
Single-molecule studies of membrane protein diffusion and association
G. Haran, Yechiel Shai
G. Kurizki
Quantum optics of cold atoms .
Superluminal effects in optics.
Quantum and nonlinear optics in photonic band gap structures.
Control of quantum states and decoherence.
Molecular controlled semiconductor electronic devices.
Electronic and magnetic properties of organized organic thin films
R. Naaman, Zeev Vager, Dep. of Particle PhysicsInteraction of electrons with bio-molecules
Electron transmission through organized organic thin films.
Quantum Molecular Dynamics and Structure
E. Pollak, R. Ianconescu, S. Daon, R. Conte, A. Azuri
- Real time quantum Monte Carlo methods
- Molecular spectroscopy
- Molecular reaction dynamics
- Quantum diffraction and surface scattering
- Molecular dynamics on surfaces
- Atomic and Molecular Structure
Alignment and orientation of atoms and molecules in strong laser fields.
Y. Prior, Ilya AverbukhStrong field nonlinear optics.
Molecular Dynamics with ultrashort shaped femtosecond pulses.
femtosecond laser material processing
Turbulence in classical and in quantum fluids
I. Procaccia, Victor L'vov, Anna Pomyalov, Laurent Boue'Fractals and scaling in nonequilibrium physics.
Failure in Amorphuos Media: fracture, shear bands and necking.
I. Procaccia, Ratul Dasgupta, Ashvin Joy, Eran BouchbinderMechanical properties of amorphus solids with theory of plasticity
I. Procaccia, Valery Ilyin, Ratul Dasgupta, Limei Xu, Smarajit KarmakarThe glass transition and slow relaxation phenomena
I. Procaccia, Jacques Zylberg, Yossi CohenControl of chemical reactions with tailored femtosecond pulses.
Laser cooling of molecules.
Quantum theory of dissipation and chemical reactions in solution.
Semiclassical theory of reactive scattering.
S. Vega
Dynamic Nuclear Polarization
S. Vega, Akiva FeintuchProton NMR Spectroscopy of Solids
Surface mobility of molecules in mesoporous materials