ABSTRACT
The previous chapters have explored the molecular and bulk properties that are responsible for the dielectric and optical behavior of matter. For example, the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index were found to correspond to refraction and absorption/emission, respectively. We have also examined the quantum mechanical treatment of the radiation-matter interaction and found theoretical expressions for the transition dipole moment (for absorption and emission) and transition polarizability (for light scattering). In this chapter, we want to understand the connection between measured spectra and quantum mechanical properties. It will be shown how to extract properties such as transition dipole moments and excited-state radiative lifetimes from experiment. Of central importance to the discussions of this chapter is the idea that the rates of spectroscopic transitions decide the intensity of the spectral response.
