Isomerism in jet-cooled 1-cyanonaphthalene complexes

The effect of complexation on the first electronic transition of 1-cyanonaphthalene has been studied for complexes with aprotic polar solvents (acetonitrile, diethylether) or olefins (2-methyl-2-butene, 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene). In both cases, isomerism has been evidenced. With polar solvents, two strong absorption bands appear in the 0 ₀ ⁰ region, one being shifted to the red and the other one to the blue side of the bare cyanonaphthalene transition. These two bands have been assigned to two isomeric forms involving specific interactions between the solvent and the cyanonaphthalene molecule. These isomers have been shown to interconvert at higher vibronic energies. With the 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene a broad absorption band leading to a red shifted fluorescence has been observed and assigned to an exciplex. With the 2-methyl-2-butene, one observes the superposition of narrow and broad bands in the excitation spectrum. These two systems have been assigned to two isomeric forms, one of them crossing to an exciplex in the excited state. At higher vibronic energy, emission from the two conformers is observed.     

Vibrational structure of the electronic transition to the third excited singlet state of pyridine N-oxide

The electronic absorption spectrum of pyridine N-oxide vapor in the region of the third electronic transition (43,000-46,000 cm_-1) was recorded. The frequencies and intensities of vibronic bands, including the 0–0 band at 43,896 cm_-1, were measured An assignment of the frequencies of fundamental vibrations in the third electronically excited state is suggested The matrices of rotation and shift of normal coordinates due to electronic excitation are calculated, and the vibronic spectrum of pyridine N-oxide is interpreted on the basis of these matrices. Translated fromZhurnal Struktumoi Khimii, Vol. 38, No. 2, pp. 357–362, March–April, 1997.     

Picosecond photon echoes detected by optical mixing

Picosecond photon echoes are shown to be easily detected by optical mixing. The synchronized picosecond excitation and probe pulses are generated by amplifying pulses from two dye lasers, synchronously pumped by a mode-locked argonion laser. The technique is used to study optical dephasing in the organic mixed crystal of pentacene in p-terphenyl.     

Vibronic relaxation in parabenzoquinone: Its effect on the decay rate of rotary spin echoes

We have observed that the decay rates of rotary spin echoes in the lowest triplet state T₀ of parabenzoquinone (PBQ) and toluquinone (TQ) increase exponentially with the temperature. The activation energy in TQ is equal to the trap depth but in PBQ it corresponds with the energy differences between T₀ and a higher lying vibronic level T_e. From the experimental data we obtain the rates for excitation to and decay from this excited vibronic level in PBQ.     

Vibronic coupling of pyrene in the first ππ* excited state

The two-photon fluorescence excitation spectrum of pyrene in n-hexane and n-heptane matrices has been measured at 10 K in the region of the first electronic transition (26800–30200 cm^?1). The spectrum consists of a rich number of sharp bands, being in general better resolved in n-hexane than in n-heptane matrix. Shpol'skii multiplets have been observed for the most intense bands. A strong two-photon band dominates the spectrum = 1495 cm^?1 from the 0—0 line and was assigned to B_1u × b_1u = A_g symmetry. Other weaker vibronic origins occur in the spectrum which were correlated to vibrational modes of b_1u, b_2u, b_3u and a_u symmetry. Intense vibronic bands are observed close to the origin of the second electronic transition and were interpreted as combination bands of B_1u × b_1u × b_3g symmetry. A two-photon vibronic theory to account for their intensity is proposed where the electronic moment is linearly expanded in powers of the nuclear displacements.     

Femtochemistry of trans‐Azomethane: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

The dissociation dynamics of trans‐azomethane upon excitation to the S₁(n,π*) state with a total energy of 93 kcal mol^?1 is investigated using femtosecond‐resolved mass spectrometry in a molecular beam. The transient signal shows an opposite pump–probe excitation feature for the UV (307 nm) and the visible (615 nm) pulses at the perpendicular polarization in comparison with the signal obtained at the parallel polarization: The one‐photon symmetry‐forbidden process excited by the UV pulse is dominant at the perpendicular polarization, whereas the two‐photon symmetry‐allowed process initiated by the visible pulse prevails at the parallel polarization. At the perpendicular polarization, we found that the two C? N bonds of the molecule break in a stepwise manner, that is, the first C? N bond breaks in ≈70 fs followed by the second one in ≈100 fs, with the intermediate characterized. At the parallel polarization, the first C? N bond cleavage was found to occur in 100 fs with the intensity of the symmetry‐allowed transition being one order of magnitude greater than the intensity of the symmetry‐forbidden transition at the perpendicular polarization. Theoretical calculations using time‐dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) and the complete active space self‐consistent field (CASSCF) method have been carried out to characterize the potential energy surface for the ground state, the low‐lying excited states, and the cationic ground state at various levels of theory. Combining the experimental and theoretical results, we identified the elementary steps in the mechanism: The initial driving force of the ultrafast bond‐breaking process of trans‐azomethane (at the perpendicular polarization) is due to the CNNC torsional motion initiated by the vibronic coupling through an intensity‐borrowing mechanism for the symmetry‐forbidden n–π* transition. Following this torsional motion and the associated molecular symmetry breaking, an S₀/S₁ conical intersection (CI) can be reached at a torsional angle of 93.1° (predicted at the CASSCF(8,7)/cc‐pVDZ level of theory). Funneling through the S₀/S₁ CI could activate the asymmetric C? N stretching motion, which is the key motion for the consecutive C? N bond breakages on the femtosecond time scale.     

Resonantly enhanced two-photon excitation of sodium atoms in a heat pipe

We report the results of a study of two-color laser excitation, ω₁ + ω₂, in dense sodium vapor where ω₁ was tuned in the vicinity of the 3P fine structure doublet and ω₂ was tuned to highernl states. Resonant excitation by ω₂ of higherns andnd states from one member of the 3P doublet when ω₁ is tuned near the other is attributed to collisional excitation transfer. Anomalous dipole forbiddenp-p transitions are observed when ω₂ is tuned to highnP states (≥20) and are believed to be DC electric field induced. Sample spectra for the processes considered are calculated and compared with experiment.     

Further evidence of the vibronic coupling of pyrazine as revealed by preresonance raman effect

The excitation wavelength dependences of the intensities of the Raman lines of pyrazine have been measured. The intensity enhancement of the non-totally symmetric Raman line at 925 cm^?1 provided firm evidence of the vibronic coupling between the lowest ¹B_3u(n,π^*) and second lowest ¹B_2u(π,π^*) states. The excitation wavelength dependences of other non-totally symmetric Raman lines suggest also the various vibronic coupling schemes.     

The singlet nπ* states of para-benzoquinone

The vibronic nπ* singlet spectra of p-benzoquinone-h₄ and p-benzoquinone-d₄ have been observed in a supersonic jet and some as yet unknown excited state fundamentals in the vapor phase have been assigned. The electric dipole forbidden, magnetic dipole allowed origin of the ¹B_1g ← ¹A_g transition is observed at 20045 cm^?1. The origin of the¹A_u ← ¹A_g, transition has been indirectly determined at 19991 cm^?1 from the vibronic excitation spectra. Neither shows a deuterium shift.     

Intersystem crossing from singlet states of molecular dimers and monomers in mixed molecular crystals: picosecond stimulated photon echo experiments

An experimental study of the excited-state dynamics of pentacene dimers and monomers in p-terphenyl host crystals is presented. Picosecond stimulated photon echoes, picosecond photon echoes, and fluorescence lifetime measurements are used to study intersystem crossing and homogeneous dephasing of delocalized dimers and monomers at 1.8 K. It is found that the dimer states can have intersystem crossing rate constants which are orders of magnitude greater than the corresponding monomers. Three mechanisms are considered to explain the differences between dimer and monomer intersystem crossing. Fluorescence lifetime measurements and photon echo measurements demonstrate that the only source of homogeneous line broadening at 1.8 K is population relaxation. These measurements combined with the stimulated echo measurements show that differences in lifetimes exhibited by the various dimer and various monomer sites are due solely to differences in intersystem crossing rate constants.     

Polarization and assignment of the two-photon excitation spectrum of benzene vapor

The two-photon excitation (TPE) of benzene fluorescence in the vapor phase at 60 torr is reported for the total-energy region from 38 086 cm^?1 to 42 441 cm^?1 using both circular and linear polarized light from a nitrogen-pumped dye-laser. The theory of the polarization dependence of the vibronic transitions in benzene is briefly reviewed, and it is seen how transitions involving vibrations of b_1u symmetry are expressly forbidden for this type of TPE experiment in which the two photons are identical. Five vibronic origins with distinctive rotational contours and polarization dependence are identified in the TPE spectrum. The υ₁₄(b_2u) vibronic origin at 1570 cm^?1 (above the electronic origin of the ^IB_2u state) stands out very prominently in the linear polarized spectrum, but nearly disappears in the circular polarized spectrum. This striking polarization dependence indicates a significant contribution of A_2u electronic states to the intermediate states of this TPE vibronic transition. The relatively great strength of the υ₁₄ band may be due to vibronic borrowing by the b_2u mode from the ground electronic state (A_1g).     

Optical dephasing of molecular dimers in mixed crystals: Picosecond photon echo experiments

Picosecond photon echo experiments are used to examine optical dephasing of substitutional dimers and monomers of tetracene and pentacene in p-terphenyl host crystals. A comparison of experiments on tetracene and pentacene dimers permits the mechanism responsible for temperature-dependent optical dephasing to be determined. It is shown that excitation of librations rather than scattering between delocalized dimer states is the principal mechanism.     

Simulated ion trajectory and induced signal in ion cyclotron resonance ion traps. Effect of ion initial axial position on ion coherence,induced signal,and radial or z ejection in a cubic trap

The effects of ion initial axial position on coherence of ion motion, induced ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) signal. and radial and z ejection have been evaluated by numerical simulation for a cubic Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance ion trap. For a given initial ion cyclotron phase and radius, ions of different initial z position are shown to be excited to significantly different ion cyclotron radii (and ultimately radially ejected at significantly different excitation amplitude-duration products). Ion initial z displacement from the trap midplane affects observed ICR signal magnitude in two ways: (1) for the same postexcitation cyclotron radius, an ion with larger initial z displacement induces a smaller ICR signal and (2) an ion with larger initial z displacement is excited to a smaller cyclotron radius. We also evaluate the induced ICR signal as a function of excitation amplitude-duration product for spatially uniform or Gaussian ion initial z distributions. In general, if the excitation waveform contains components at frequency, 2 ω_z or (ω₊ + 2 ω_z, in which ω_z is the axial C“trapping”) oscillation frequency, then ejection occurs axially. However, the resulting excitation amplitude-duration product for such axial ejection is significantly higher (factor of, ～ 4) than that required for radial ejection (at ω₊) for ions of small initial radius. The present results offer the first explanation of how, even if the ion is initially at rest on the z axis (i.e., zero excitation electric field amplitude on the z axis), z ejection (axial ejection) may nevertheless occur if the excitation waveform contains frequency components at ω₊ + 2ω_z and/or 2_{w z} Namely, our simulations reveal that off-resonant excitation pushes ions away from the z axis, after which the ions are exposed to z excitation and eventual z ejection.     

Influence of the host on vibronic relaxation: a study of free-base porphin in a series of n-alkanes by photochemical hole-burning

Photochemical hole-burning is used to determine the relaxation times of vibronic bands of the S₁ ← S₀ transition to free-base porphin in different substitutional sites of n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane and n-decane at 1.6 K. The vibronic relaxation depends strongly on site and host. A correlation between the n-alkane chain length and the vibronic relaxation time is observed.     

Picosecond measurements of exciton migration in tetracene crystals doped with pentacene

The kinetics of electronic energy transfer from host to guest have been measured for a tetracene crystal doped with pentacene. With single picosecond pulse excitation and streak camera diagnostics, the fluorescence risetime of the guest is measured to be the same as the decay time of the host. For low pentacene concentrations the exponential decay of the host at 170 K is consistent with a diffusion model for singlet migration from host to guest. At high intensities, no evidence was found for guest saturation because of the dominating effect of bimolecular exciton annihilation in the host.     

Absolute3 P o triple differential cross sections for electron-helium Wannier threshold ionization

The hyperfine structure sub-levels of the 5s5p³P₁ state of cadmium are populated coherently with a 35 ps light pulse. The coherence is detected in a second excitation step resulting in a modulation of the ionization probability. A third light pulse ionizes the atom. Differences in the H.F.S. of the odd isotopes are used to selectively enhance the ionization of one isotope. In a magnetic field the Zeeman splitting of the hyperfine structure causes an additional modulation. Measurements and a theoretical interpretation are given.     

Driven-echo and rotary-echo measurements of the spin coherence in triplet-state benzophenone

A simple theoretical model is presented for the recently reported driven echo. It is shown that driven echoes may be used to measure the spin coherence time in the rotating frame, T_2p. Some features of the model, including its relationship to the rotary echo, are examined experimentally for photoexcited triplet-state benzophenone at 77 K.     

Polyene spectroscopy: Vibronic evidence for a forbidden transition in DECA-2,4,6,8-tetraene

The dimethylpolyene deca-2,4,6,8-tetraene was studied by absorption, fluorescence excitation and fluorescence spectroscopy in glasses at 77 K and in n-alkane crystals at 4.2 K. A strong transition to a ¹B_u excited state is observed with an origin at 32400 cm^?1 in isopentane at 77 K and at 31280 cm^?1 in n-undecane at 4.2 K. A weak transition to a ¹A_g excited state is observed with an origin at 28738 cm^?1 in the n-undecane matrix. The radiative fluorescence lifetime is 500 ns. In undecane the transition from the ground state to the ¹A_g excited state exhibits a classic Herzberg—Teller vibronic pattern indicating a symmetry forbidden transition.     

Vibronic coupling and intramolecular dynamics of pyrene as revealed by the S0→S2 excitation spectrum in a supersonic jet

The fluorescence excitation spectrum of pyrene obtained in a supersonic jet for the S₀→S₂ transition shows a complicated structure due to the interaction of discrete levels of S₂ with the quasi-continuous levels belonging to S₁. The intensity distribution pattern in this region has been evaluated from quantum-mechanically calculated quantities, such as the vibronic coupling integrals, and Franck-Condon factors deduced from independent experiments. The dynamics in pyrene following excitation into S₂ are discussed.     

Vibrational redistribution effects in the time resolved emission of isolated pyrene molecules

Arguments are given that the appearance of a short component in the fluorescence decay of pyrene after excitation in a vibronic origin of the S₀ → S₁ transition, has to be ascribed to a redistribution of vibrational energy of the inducing mode over the other vibrational modes in the molecule.