These proceedings report the lectures and seminars presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "Optical Properties of Ions in Solids," held at Erice, Italy, June 6-21, 1974. The Institute was the first activity of the International School of Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy of the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture. The Institute consisted of a series of lectures on optical properties of ions in solids that, starting at a fundamental level, finally reached the current level of research. The sequence of lectures and the organization of the material taught were in keeping...

These proceedings report the lectures and seminars presented at the NATO Advanced Study Institute on "The Spectroscopy of the Excited State," held at Erice, Italy, June 9-24, 1975. This Institute was an activity of the International School of Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy of the "Ettore Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culture. The Institute consisted of a series of lectures on the spectroscopic properties of materials in excited electronic states, that, starting at a fundamental level, finally reached the current level of research. The sequence of lectures and the organization of the...

This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the two fundamental aspects of a solid that determine its physical properties: lattice structure and atomic vibrations (phonons). The elements of group theory are extensively developed and used as a tool to show how the symmetry of a solid and the vibrations of the atoms in the solid lead to the physical properties of the material. The uses of different types of spectroscopy techniques that elucidate the lattice structure of a solid and the normal vibrational modes of the atoms in the solid are described. The interaction of light with solids...