Abstract

Direct observation of temporally varying molecular geometries during a chemical reaction is very challenging. Ultrafast (pico- and femtosecond) laser spectroscopy allows the detection of various short living species and the determination of their lifetimes. In a recent experiment [1], time-dependent solvatochromic shifts and real time "photography” of the OH...O motions in liquid water have been observed and interpreted with statistical mechanics of nonlinear optical processes. These results mainly pointed out the vibrational solvatochroism of the (v=0 -> v=1) band.

© 2000 IEEE