Quantum liquids in confinement: The microscopic view

We discuss, on a microscopic level, the effects of confinement on structural as well as dynamic properties of quantum liquids. The most evident structural consequences of confinement are layer structures found in liquid films, and free surfaces appearing in liquid drops and slabs. These structural properties have immediate consequences: new types of excitation such as surface phonons, layer phonons, layer rotons, and standing waves can appear and are potentially observable in neutron scattering spectra as well as in thermodynamic properties. Atom scattering experiments provide further insights into structural properties. Methods have been developed to describe elastic and inelastic atom scattering as well as transport currents. The theory has been applied to examine scattering processes of ⁴He and ³He atoms impinging on ⁴He clusters, as well as ⁴He scattering off ⁴He films and slabs.