Vibrational relaxation and spectral evolution following ultrafast OH stretch excitation of water

Ultrafast anti-Stokes Raman measurements of OH stretching excitations (3000-3600 cm(-1)) in water show an similar to 0.4 ps spectral evolution from the red to the blue that is similar to what is seen in the Raman spectrum of water heated to 90degreesC. The lifetime of OH stretching excitations T-1 = 0.7 ps. A small portion of the spectrum on the blue edge of the band decays more slowly with T-1 = 1.1 ps. A previous measurement of T-1 approximate to 0.3 ps for water [J. Chem. Phys. 117 (2002) 1708] is reinterpreted shown to consistent with the present work. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.