  We report on phonon properties and electronic transitions in CaCu3Ti4O12, a
material which reveals a colossal dielectric constant at room temperature
without any ferroelectric transition. The results of far- and mid-infrared
measurements are compared to those obtained by broadband dielectric and
millimeter-wave spectroscopy on the same single crystal. The unusual
temperature dependence of phonon eigenfrequencies, dampings and ionic plasma
frequencies of low lying phonon modes are analyzed and discussed in detail.
Electronic excitations below 4 eV are identified as transitions between full
and empty hybridized oxygen-copper bands and between oxygen-copper and
unoccupied Ti 3d bands. The unusually small band gap determined from the
dc-conductivity (~200 meV) compares well with the optical results.
