Our research group deals with the physics of nanostructures. We want to understand how the properties of systems whose dimensions are in the nanometer range are different from those of solid-state bodies on the one hand and molecules on the other. To achieve this, we apply experimental methods such as optical spectroscopy and numerical simulation with ab initio and empirical models. For example, the atomic structure of carbon nanotubes can be assigned using Raman scattering; in further experiments, we examine physical processes such as the interactions between charge carriers or between electrons and vibrations in one-dimensional systems. These experiments are supplemented through calculations of these interactions.