Proceedings Of The Dalgarno Celebratory Symposium: Contributions To Atomic, Molecular, And Optical Physics, Astrophysics, And Atmospheric Physics

Proceedings of the Dalgarno Celebratory Symposium Contributions to Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Physics This page intentionally left blank Proceedings of the Dalgarno Celebratory Symposium Contributions to Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Physics Cambridge, Massachusetts 10 – 12 September 2008 Editors James F Babb Kate Kirby Hossein Sadeghpour ITAMP, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA ICP Imperial College Press Published by Imperial College Press 57 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9HE Distributed by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. 5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224 USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601 UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HE British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover photo: © 2008 Randy H. Goodman Event photos pages 2, 68, 126, 184, 244, 314, 356 & 377: © 2008 Randy H. Goodman PROCEEDINGS OF THE DALGARNO CELEBRATORY SYMPOSIUM Contributions to Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Physics Copyright © 2010 by Imperial College Press All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN-13 978-1-84816-469-7 ISBN-10 1-84816-469-6 Printed in Singapore. Linda - Proceedings of the Dalgarno.pmd 1 10/15/2009, 4:47 PM October 5, 2009 14:50 WSPC - Proceedings Trim Size: 9in x 6in preface5 v PREFACE On September 10, 2008, more than 125 friends, colleagues, and former students and postdocs gathered in Cambridge to join Professor Alex Dalgarno in celebrating his 80th birthday (which actually occurred on January 5, 2008). A symposium∗ highlighting Dalgarno’s many scientific contributions was sponsored by the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (ITAMP) and held in Radcliffe Yard, September 10–12, and it included several receptions, a conference banquet, and closed with an evening concert in Cronkhite Courtyard. Alex began his scientific career with a publication in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (1952). He has made seminal contributions in theoretical atomic and molecular physics, physics of planetary atmospheres and comets, molecular astrophysics, and astrochemistry. He has published nearly 750 peer-reviewed papers, conference proceedings and book chapters, including 7 papers in 2008. His average annual publication rate currently stands at 13. His most cited paper (The Theory of Scattering by a Rigid Rotator ) published in 1960 with Arthurs has been referenced more than 935 times. He has five papers each with more than 500 citations. His h-index at 87 surely places him near the top of anyone’s ranking, should he decide to leave Harvard for academic positions elsewhere. Alex is clearly unique and his contributions have been wide-ranging, insightful, and influential. The organizers of the Symposium—the editors of