Coherent Excitation and Relaxation of the Coupled S1/S2 Electronic States of Naphthalene

Abstract

Femtosecond time-resolved ionization reveals the coherent nature of the electronic excitation and relaxation of the S1 (Lb) and S2 (La) excited states of naphthalene (see picture). The authors describe two different types of coherent behavior: adiabatic evolution, resulting in the transient population of the S2 state excited out of resonance, and electronic recurrences, observed in the relaxation of this resonantly populated state as a consequence of the strong S2/S1 nonadiabatic coupling. Copyright © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.