Molecular Physics and Physical Chemistry with Advanced Photon Sources

Broadly tunable photonsources (light sources) like storage rings (synchrotron radiation, SR) and Free Electron Lasers (FEL) that went into operation in the last decade provide radiation of high brilliance. They open exciting prospects for molecular spectroscopy and dynamics in several spectral regions that were traditionally difficult to access. It is therefore timely to address the potential of advanced photon sources for molecular physics and physical chemistry and review the state of the art in the research fields that already or potentially will benefit from these sources, among them combustion science, astrophysics, and atmospheric chemistry.