Present trends and future perspectives for atomic and molecular physics at the new X-ray light sources

The major advances in the actual and predicted performances of new light sources (low-emittance storage rings and soft and hard X-ray free-electron lasers) in the last few years have provided a new impulse to the development of atomic and molecular physics, in particular in what concerns electronic structure and dynamics of atoms, molecules, liquids and clusters investigated with photoelectron spectroscopy, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and ion spectroscopy. We present here a review on the present trends and future perspectives of the field, with special emphasis on the new possibilities offered by the characteristics of the new sources (high brilliance, low emittance, short pulses). Several examples will be provided concerning state-of-the-art present results and future developments. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.