Abstract

Nuclear dynamics in liquids can be studied in real time by impulsive, Rayleigh/Raman-type ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopy. Nonresonant ultrashort laser pulses can induce and probe molecular motion in liquids, that shows complicated inertial behaviour on a subpicosecond time scale. The initially coherent motion dephases rapidly and after a few picoseconds only diffusive behaviour is observed. This dynamics gives rise to the broad, low-frequency spectrum of liquids in the Rayleigh-wing, that was studied in the past decade by third-order techniques like the optical Kerr effect [1], and transient grating scattering [2].

© 1996 Optical Society of America