Harmonic oscillator model relaxation processes

In Section V the reorientation mechanism (A) was investigated in terms of the only (hat curved) potential well. Correspondingly, the only stochastic process characterized by the Debye relaxation time rD was discussed there. This restriction has led to a poor description of the submillimeter (10-100 cm-1) spectrum of water, since it is the second stochastic process which determines the frequency dependence (v) in this frequency range. The specific vibration mechanism (B) is applied for investigation of the submillimetre and the far-infrared spectrum in water. Here we shall demonstrate that if the harmonic oscillator model is applied, the small isotope shift of the R-band could be interpreted as a result of a small difference of the masses of the water isotopes. 

In this example the master equation formalism is appliedto the process of vibrational relaxation of a diatomic molecule represented by a quantum harmonic oscillator In a reduced approach we focus on the dynamics of just this oscillator, and in fact only on its energy. The relaxation described on this level is therefore a particular kind of random walk in the space of the energy levels of this oscillator. It should again be emphasized that this description is constructed in a phenomenological way, and should be regarded as a model. In the construction of such models one tries to build in all available information. In the present case the model relies on quantum mechanics in the weak interaction limit that yields the relevant transition matrix elements between harmonic oscillator levels, and on input from statistical mechanics that imposes a certain condition (detailed balance) on the transition rates. 

We have seen that vibrational relaxation rates can be evaluated analytically for the simple model of a hannonic oscillator coupled linearly to a harmonic bath. Such model may represent a reasonable approximation to physical reality if the frequency of the oscillator under study, that is the mode that can be excited and monitored, is well embedded within the spectrum of bath modes. However, many processes ofinterest involve molecular vibrations whose frequencies are higherthan the solvent Debye frequency. In this case the linear coupling rate (13.35) vanishes, reflecting the fact that in a linear coupling model relaxation cannot take place in the absence of modes that can absorb the dissipated energy. The harmonic Hamiltonian... 

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