- Introduction to laser and optical resonators • Ultrafast transients in atoms – The classical limit of the quantum mechanical atom – The radial wave packet – The angular localized wave packet • Ultrafast processes in molecules – Observation of molecular vibrations • Simple molecules • Complex mlecules – Chemical reactions – Molecules in solution • Ultrafast processes in solid-state materials – Excitation across the band gap – Exitons – Intraband relaxation – Phonon dynamics – Laser-induce surface disordering • Photo-biological reactions – Femtosecond isomerization of Rhodopsin – Photosynthesis • Absorption: structure and dynamics • Fluorescence: structure and dynamics • Basic principles of nonlinear optical spectroscopy close