Semiclassical dynamics, ultrafast spectroscopy

A theory for the ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy of large polyatomic molecules in condensed phases was developed in the work [15]. A multimode Brownian oscillator model was used to account for high-frequency molecular vibrations and local intermolecular modes as well as collective solvent motions. A semiclassical picture was provided using the density matrix in Liouville space. Conditions for the observation of quantum beats, spectral diffusion, and solvation dynamics (dynamic Stokes shift) are specified. 

The conceptual framework for the - semiclassical simulation of ultrafast spectroscopic observables is provided by the Wigner representation of quantum mechanics [2, 3]. Specifically, for the ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy using classical trajectories, methods based on the semiclassical limit of the Liouville-von Neumann equation for the time evolution of the vibronic density matrix have been developed [4-8]. Our approach [4,6-8] is related to the Liouville space theory of nonlinear spectroscopy developed by Mukamel et al. [9]. It is characterized by the ability to approximately describe quantum phenomena such as optical transitions by averaging over the ensemble of classical trajectories. Moreover, quantum corrections for the nuclear dynamics can be introduced in a systematic manner, e.g. in the framework of the entangled trajectory method [10,11]. Alternatively, these effects can be also accounted for in the framework of the multiple spawning method [12]. In general, trajectory-based methods require drastically less computational effort than full quantum mechanical calculations and provide physical insight in ultrafast processes. Additionally, they can be combined directly with quantum chemistry methods for the electronic structure calculations. 

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