Advances in Atomic Molecular Collisions

This book highlights the advances made in the field of atomic and molecular collisions both in the experimental and theoretical fronts. The study of the collision of charged particles with neutral target atoms or molecules started many decades ago. The charged particles mostly include electrons and fast heavy ions. This book discusses basic research in atomic molecular collision physics along with some of the important applications in other branches of physics and peripheral fields, such as plasma physics, radiobiology, astrophysics, nanosciences, antimatter physics, and surface science. The complexity of the target systems led to the need for more sophisticated experimental tools as well as advanced theoretical models. Since the last decade, a major focus has been to investigate the behavior of biomolecules (such as nucleobases) and water when irradiated with protons and heavy ions due its applications toward hadron therapy for cancer and radiobiology in general. The collisions with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons find applications toward astrochemistry that take place in the interstellar medium, solar wind as well as UV plasmonic devices. It has been proposed that the collective excitation in these molecules plays a major role in these applications. This book presents details about the advances made and the challenges faced in both experimental and theoretical front for studying the atomic collisions including these aspects. The book can be used as a reference for researchers, professionals, and also students. The recent advances in the sophisticated experimental tools for various types of experiments as well as the progress in the experimental methodologies are addressed along with the advancement in the theoretical front.