Vibrational quasicontinuum of polyatomic molecules: New problems for laser spectroscopy

Generally, the subject of the paper is related to the structure of highly excited vibrational states of polyatomic molecules. The problem is treated in terms of intramolecular vibrational dynamics as well as spectroscopy of vibrational transitions. Theoretical approximations which allow us to calculate spectra starting from dynamics are discussed. A microscopic treatment of spectroscopic relaxation timesT ₁ andT ₂ is given. Also, various experimental approaches to study the problem are outlined including the measurements of stochasticity onset in molecules.