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The Journal of Chemical Physics

Random coupling model for multiphoton photofragmentation of large molecules

Israel Schek, Joshua Jortner

Published Mar 15, 1979• 57 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In this paper we present a quantum mechanical theory of multiphoton photodissociation of large, collision-free, molecules, which rests on the notion that the radiative coupling terms between adjacent sets of congested bound molecular states in the quasicontinuum exhibit a wide variation both in terms of magnitude and of sign. Invoking the rotating-wave approximation, neglecting spontaneous infrared decay, and assuming that near-resonant radiative coupling prevails, the equations of motion were solved within the framework of the random radiative coupling model for the radiative interactions in the quasicontinuum. In the low energy range (range I) the equations of motion for the amplitudes are determined by the effective Hamiltonian formalism, while in the quasicontinuum (range II) the populations are governed by kinetic equations for sequential reversible decay. All the features of coherent excitation are preserved for range I, while in range II intramolecular erosion of phase coherence effects prevails. This model provides a set of reasonable predictions.

DOI
10.1063/1.437840

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In this paper we present a quantum mechanical theory of multiphoton photodissociation of large, collision-free, molecules, which rests on the notion that the radiative coupling terms between adjacent sets of congested bound molecular states in the quasicontinuum exhibit a wide variation both in terms of magnitude and of sign. Invoking the rotating-wave approximation, neglecting spontaneous infrared decay, and assuming that near-resonant radiative coupling prevails, the equations of motion were solved within the framework of the random radiative coupling model for the radiative interactions in the quasicontinuum. In the low energy range (range I) the equations of motion for the amplitudes are determined by the effective Hamiltonian formalism, while in the quasicontinuum (range II) the populations are governed by kinetic equations for sequential reversible decay. All the features of coherent excitation are preserved for range I, while in range II intramolecular erosion of phase coherence effects prevails. This model provides a set of reasonable predictions.
Multiphoton excitation and dissociation of large molecules under collisionless conditions is discussed in terms of an intercontinuum random coupling model. The mathematical approach described in a previous paper is used to obtain the general solution for a system of consecutively coupled discrete states, quasicontinuous manifolds, and continuous (dissociative) manifolds of molecular levels (eigenstates of the total molecular Hamiltonian), where the radiative coupling matrix elements are assumed to be given as a linear combination of smoothly varying and randomly varying (over level indices in the molecular manifolds) components. In the range of discrete molecular levels the time evolution is coherent and described in terms of the optical Bloch equation. In the quasicontinuous and continuous ranges the time evolution may be described in terms of Markoffian kinetic equations for the number of photons absorbed by the molecule, provided that the intramolecular vibrational relaxation widths associated with the optically active molecular modes is much larger than the Rabi frequency associated with the excitation of these modes. The kinetic evolution itself consists of direct multiphoton excitation processes (simultaneous transitions from the upper discrete levels to all higher energy molecular manifolds) resulting from the smooth component in the radiative coupling, and a consecutive excitation process described by the Pauli master equation with rates given by the golden rule expression. The interaction which enters into the golden rule expression is the variance in the radiative coupling. The direct excitation component contributes a negligible part of the overall excitation even if the random and smooth radiative coupling components are comparable. The resulting incoherent time evolution of the multiphoton excitation process is consistent with available experimental results. Coherent effects in the time evolution are expected for higher radiation field intensities, where the Rabi frequency becomes comparable to the intramolecular vibrational relaxation rate.
We study a model where two discrete levels are coupled to a band of closely spaced levels forming a quasicontinuum (QC). This model describes how the initial-stage coherence in multiphoton excitation of polyatomic molecules interferes with the recurrent time dynamics due to the QC coupling. The time evolution of the system is solved exactly assuming the QC to be infinite, flat, and uniform; and a detailed investigation of different special cases is carried out. Weak QC excitation is found to exhibit features which are connected to few level dynamics rather than to an irreversible decay, and we study how this modifies the absorption cross section and the Rabi oscillations. The conditions for coherent trapping are discussed.
Reduced equations of motion (REM) are derived for molecular multiphoton processes by constructing a small set of relevant operators corresponding to populations and coherences of the molecule ’’dressed’’ by the radiation field and adopting the Mori projection operator technique. The resulting REM contain time-dependent dephasing operators which are intimately related to our reduction scheme and whose definition and evaluation do not rely on any perturbative expansion in intramolecular interactions. These operators are expressed in terms of intramolecular dipole correlation functions which are the key quantities in the present formulation and are then evaluated using a simple model. In the limit where our physical system may be separated into a ’’system’’ and a ’’bath’’ with a weak interaction, we recover the ordinary expressions of line broadening. The present formulation provides us with a hiearchy of REM which interpolate smoothly all the way from the coherent to the incoherent driving limits and are in good quantitative agreement with the existing experimental data.
In this paper we examine the conditions for the erosion of coherence effects in the multiphoton excitation of a collision-free sparse molecular level structure driven by a laser field, which is characterized by a stabilized amplitude and a fluctuating phase. The stochastic equations of motion for the molecule excited by a phase-diffusing laser field were solved within the framework of second-order cumulant expansion. The kinetic master equation was found to be valid for the description of the dynamics of the multiphoton excitation process provided that the correlation time of the laser phase is considerably shorter than the relevant molecular time scales and that the rate of the slow diffusion of the laser phase considerably exceeds the Rabi frequencies. We conclude that the experimental observation of the celebrated fluence dependence of the efficiency of high-order multiphoton excitation in isolated molecules may sometimes originate from the fluctuations in the laser field rather than from intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution.
In this paper we apply the T matrix formalism of scattering theory to derive general expressions for the absorption cross sections, the cross sections for resonance fluorescence and the emission quantum yields from large molecules in the statistical limit. In the simple case of an isolated molecular resonance both the absorption line shape and the photon scattering cross section exhibit a Lorentzian distribution on the photon energy, the emission quantum yields are distributed among the ground state vibronic levels according to their radiative widths and, most important, the emission quantum yields are independent of the photon energy and of the spectral width of the exciting light. We were able to derive general expressions for the resonance scattering from a pair of overlapping resonances, including radiative corrections to infinite order. The absorption cross section does not vanish in the region of destructive interference but assumes a finite value which depends on the radiative widths. A sharp maximum in the partial and in the total emission quantum yields is exhibited in the destructive interference regions. This general scheme was applied to a pair of zero order discrete states, one of which is optically active, which interact with an optically inactive quasicontinuum. The energy dependent quantum yield depends on the total width of the radiatively impotent state and may exhibit a minimum. We have demonstrated that when interference effects are involved the decay characteristics of this system will differ for coherent and for narrow band excitation. The general formalism was utilized to derive approximate relations for the resonance fluorescence cross sections and for the quantum yield in the case of a Fano absorption line shape which are valid away from the interference region. Finally, we have applied the general theoretical scheme to the case of the direct photodissociation spectrum of molecules. We have demonstrated that a finite energy dependent emission quantum yield will be observed when a molecule is optically pumped into a dissociative continuum.
I derive reduced equations of motion for molecular multiphoton processes by constructing a set of relevant operators and adopting the Mori projection-operator technique. The intramolecular dephasing processes which play a dominant role in the quasicontinuum are properly incorporated by utilizing the representation of exact molecular states. The resulting equations include dephasing operators expressed in terms of intramolecular dipole correlation functions, and interpolate between the coherent and incoherent driving limits.